SAN SALVADOR–The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the organization Plan presented 15 labor market guides that will help students, mainly from public schools, to make informed decisions about future careers.

The guides are based on a labor market study conducted by Plan that identifies occupations most in demand by companies in which youths can find opportunities more easily.  According to the study, the main areas of employment opportunities for youths are: sales, transportation and courier services, accounting, management, agro-food, hotels and restaurants, cashiers, customer service, auto mechanics, chemical-pharmaceutical, network systems technician, industrial production, textile manufacturing, industrial machinery maintenance and warehouse management.

USAID’s Improving Access to Employment Program produced a guide for each occupation to provide information and guidance on the areas with more opportunities to find a job according to the current labor market situation. Plan financed the printing and distribution of at least 270 sets of the guides for use in those schools where Plan has direct interventions. Mechanisms for coordination with the Ministry of Education have been established to support even more public high school youths through this valuable information.

The guides are also available at the specialized website in career counseling www.elijomifuturo.com and will be widely promoted through social media and the websites of the USAID program, Plan and the Ministry of Education.

With a total investment of $7,490,000 for the period 2009-2013, the USAID Improving Access to Employment Program is helping to make labor market information more available to students and other job seekers. The program also supports the training and development of the skills needed to improve the country's competitiveness in the world market.

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