Programa jóvenes rurales emprendedores (Young rural entrepreneurs programme) SENA. Colombia
Promoting rural entrepreneurship, by creating viable and sustainable small businesses aimed at increase the productivity and competitiveness.
- Rural young people of low socio-economic strata, between 16 and 35 years.
- Other population groups who are in a vulnerable situation, as displaced by violence and natural phenomena, the disabled, prisoners, juvenile offenders, female heads of household, demobilized soldiers and peasants, with no age limit.
It is aimed at promoting new ventures that mitigate migration from the countryside to the city, increase rural productivity and reduce structural unemployment.
This is a training programme, both theoretical and practical, which proposes the development of skills for productive projects in strategic sectors and high occupational performance, preferably in agricultural, livestock, fisheries, commercial or service areas.
The programme starts with the definition of productive projects by SENA entrepreneurship units, in partnership with local instances and with the beneficiaries. Then the content of training, depending on the projects to be undertaken, is set.
Students graduate when they can develop the skills necessary for the chosen project, without exceeding the maximum time for each project that is five or six months.
The duration of the training process varies from one project to another and from one group of students to another.
Once the project is launched, SENA entrepreneurship unit tracks it for a period of four or five months. After this stage, assessment can continue if beneficiaries demand so, for example, on how to develop a business plan and formal access to funding sources.
Additionally, they can receive advice from “Tecnoparques” and SENA Training Centers, and in particular from its enterprise units.
- Inter-generational transfer of knowledge, allows parents to improve applied production techniques thanks to the lessons learned by their children and improve the productivity of their rural farms.
- Opportunity to generate revenues with further training.
- Flexibility of the training process.
- Participate in the development of own productive projects generates sense of belonging among participants.
- In 2007 and 2008, 2081 production units were put into operation, most of them small-scale and informal.
- The labor insertion was increased by 14%, there is also an increase in labor income.
- 77% of students stated that what they have learned helped them to improve their income.
- 62% of graduates shows that learning helped them to improve their working conditions.
- It attends all municipalities in the country, covering even small, remote and inaccessible towns.
- Low dropout, less than 10% of young people enrolled.
- In 2007 and 2008, 91,000 and 145,000 students graduated, respectively, which reveals a remarkable growth compared to 55.000 students in 2004.
