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Pilot program uses blockchain to improve youth employment in Costa Rica

The Innovation Lab of the IDB Group (MIF), the Monge Foundation, and BanQu, a for-purpose blockchain as-a-service company, have joined forces to launch a pilot program aimed at improving Costa Rican youth employment outcomes.  This new pilot seeks to provide Costa Rican youth with secure and immutable records of certificate completion from school, internships, and employment using blockchain technology.

The pilot is part of the “Matching New Workforce Skills to the Knowledge Economy Demands” project that is being implemented since 2017 and aims to serve as a job training and placement program. It is based on virtual reality and gamification and targeted towards vulnerable youth aged 16 to 20 in urban public institutions in Costa Rica.

The program hopes to help Costa Rican youth keep up with the future of work. More and more, employment opportunities focus and rely on certifications, trainings, and internships as qualifications for hiring. However, students sometimes struggle to keep accurate records and reliable proof of their accomplishments and experience. Similarly, potential employers are faced with the burden of contacting each academic entity or certification provider in order to validate the accuracy of each CV they receive.

Due to the secure and certifiable nature of blockchain technology, the new pilot will help students to build an “economic identity” that establishes youth participation and relevance in the labor market. It will also help private companies to more easily confirm qualifications when hiring youth, enabling a safe, certified and distributed workforce ecosystem in Costa Rica.

Based on Fundacion Monge’s functional requirements, BanQu will configure their Blockchain as-a-service application to increase the transparency, immutability and portability of students’ certifications. The requirements consider the user experiences of all stakeholders - including the students, employers and governmental agencies - to ensure successful adoption of the new application. 

At the end of the pilot implementation, it's expected that 1,000 youth will have built their certificate history using blockchain technology, and 20 companies will have joined the initiative.

About the IDB

The Inter-American Development Bank is devoted to improving lives. Established in 1959, the IDB is a leading source of long-term financing for economic, social and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDB also conducts cutting-edge research and provides policy advice, technical assistance and training to public and private sector clients throughout the region. https://www.iadb.org

About the Innovation Lab of the IDB Group (MIF)

The IDB Group innovation laboratory promotes development through the private sector by identifying, supporting, testing and piloting new solutions to development challenges and seeking to create opportunities for the poor and vulnerable populations in the LAC region. To fulfill its role, the MIF engages and inspires the private sector and collaborates with the public sector. https://www.fomin.org

About Fundacion Monge

The Fundacion Monge is a private, non-profit organization that promotes access to education for Central American youth as an instrument to combat poverty, social mobility and personal improvement. It is the corporate foundation of Grupo Monge. www.fundacionmonge.com

About BanQu

BanQu is a for-profit / for-purpose blockchain-as-a-service software company solving the toughest global problem – Extreme Poverty. As a blockchain platform, secure and immutable, they help lift people out of extreme poverty by connecting them to the global supply chains they participate in and the brands, organizations, and governments that power them. https://banqu.co

External Contacts

Agustín Cáceres

Agustín Cáceres
Additional Contacts

Vela,Maritza De La Dolorosa

Vela,Maritza De La Dolorosa
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