Costa Rica Launches Technology Skill Training Program for Young Graduates

Costa Rica has launched a US$4.5 million scholarship program to provide technical skill training to its young graduates seeking to land a job in the country’s burgeoning services sector.

Around one thousand people will undergo training this year alone, stated the country’s investment promotion agency, CINDE.

As most of the country’s residents are under lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the training will be delivered online.

Developed in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the program will contribute significantly to easing technology talent shortage in the Central American country.

“These scholarships will allow hundreds of Costa Ricans to acquire the skills necessary to perform successfully in the knowledge economy,” says Cinde’s Managing Director Jorge Sequeira Picado.

José Ramón Gómez, a senior official with the IDB, says the skill training program will go a long way in closing’ gaps in STEM sectors”. The bank has not disclosed how much money it contributed to the fund.

Costa Rica’s services sector has been on the rise for the past five years. Today, more than 150 companies are providing a range of services including BPO, call center, digital, and software development.

From Akamai to IBM, and Mexifrutas to Sykes, more than a dozen foreign multinationals expanded operations in the country last year alone. Thanks to their continued expansion, Costa Rica has been enjoying nearly 10% of annual employment growth since 2015.

It is, in fact, one of a few countries in the region where there is already a law in place for allowing people to work from home using ICT technologies.