Honduran President Urges Youth to Take Advantage of Call Center Training Program

Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández has urged young people to look for careers in the call center industry by taking advantage of the training program funded by his government. Known as Agents Call Center, the training program is designed to teach both English and digital technologies.
The government says it is spending nearly US$2,000 on each person enrolled for the training program, which lasts for 18 months. President Hernández made this call on his visit to the University Technology Centre (CEUTEC) in Tegucigalpa, one of the education institutes offering the training.
According to Conatel, Honduras’ telecom regulator, as many as 10,000 Hondurans will undergo training in call center service, an industry that has employed in excess of 20,000 people in the nation so far. “The call center industry has become a major source of jobs for youths in our country,” said Hernández. “We have to capitalize on the need for bilingual people that the industry is looking for.”
The curricula for the Agents Call Center program was designed in consultation with employers of the call center companies operating in the country. Many universities and institutes have agreed to participate in the program. Not only those in the capital of Tegucigalpa and second city San Pedro Sula, but people from around the country, are taking part in the training, according to government officials.
After taking oath of office, Hernández contacted international consulting firms like McKinsey in a bid to identify the economic sectors with the most potential in generating jobs for his country’s young people. Jobs are crucial for this Central American nation that has hit hard by gangs and violence. Drug-related violence has already claimed thousands of lives, and both Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula among the world’s most violent cities.
The president said English skills would increase job opportunities for youths, adding that even the tourism industry is looking people proficient in English language.