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Dual Education
The construction trade in most southern countriessuffers from a pronounced deficit in qualified work-ers. Most masons, carpenters and other trades-men lack theoretical knowledge that would allowthem to take more appropriate decisions and usingthe available materials in better and more efficientways. On the other hand, professionals often donot master the skills and the practical knowledgeof the craftsmen. This knowledge gap transformsinto wasteful use of scarce resources and resultsin high costs at less than optimal quality.
The informal sector dominates popular construc-tion in Latin America. The masons in the villagesand neighborhoods are often also the architectsand engineers of the construction, they make thebudget and take the technical decisions accordingto their own experiences. There is a danger ofcombining a lack of knowledge of technologicalrules with poor calculation and management skills.A majority of the master builders are masons whohave learned their trade by copying another "mas-ter", without knowing the basics of their art. Onereaches the level of "master" after years of makingmistakes that customers pay for without knowing it.
Formal education is neededYoungsters who for some reason have to quitschool seldom become real masters of a trade.This can only be overcome by a consequent com-bination of practical and theoretical training pro-gram. In Central Europe, the “Apprenticeship sys-tem” has longstanding tradition. In Switzerland,more than two thirds of all young people opt forthis path. Most construction trades are three-yearapprenticeships, where the student works fourdays a week in a registered company (under theguidance of a qualified master) and spends oneday per week at the trade school.
Apprenticeship for masons Various members of the EcoSur network are im-plementing different projects in Integrated Educa-tion. Sofonias Nicaragua has launched a “classicapprenticeship program” based on German andSwiss experiences in the year 2003. Every yearten youngsters are taken under contract for twoyears, at a salary comparable to a mason’s helper.They have 8th grade education, and the main re-quirements are willingness to learn. Four days aweek they work at a construction site closely su-pervised by an instructor, one day is reserved forschooling at a local VTC (vocational training cen-ter). Additional to the “on the job training” they re-ceive an intensive two week course every year,where specific tasks are instructed. A theoreticaland practical exam graduates them as masons.
Integrated education programs Vocational Training Centers are an appropriateway to achieve those goals, if they are able toprovide a real job attachment program where theapprentices learn to work under the pressureand exigencies of a productive unit. However, itis often difficult to find employers who are pre-pared to comply with the specific conditionsneeded.
Integration of theory and practiceIn many places there are "capacity building"projects that focus only on "learning by doing" andothers that are purely theoretical with a few prac-tices in the workshop or school yard. These effortsusually fall short, as the professional life of a brick-layer, carpenter or mechanic necessarily combinesa good level of school education with a labourpractice that was acquired under market condi-tions.National or local parameters must necessarily be included in the development of the theoretical and practical curricula. It is not the same to train techni-cians for large companies with modern machinery, materials classified and managed by profession-als, or to train them for work as a popular builder.
Sustainability The experience after more than ten years of oper-ation is highly positive. Almost all the graduates have found work in their field and some are small entrepreneurs or group leaders. This despite the fact that many of them were young people at socialrisk when they entered the apprenticeship.
Over the last years EcoSur has started similarprojects in El Salvador and Ecuador. Based onexperiences in the reconstruction of Haiti, wheregraduated masons from Nicaragua acted as in-structors, EcoSur has teamed up with the SwissDevelopment Corporation to develop a wide set ofcomprehensible teaching materials for earthquakeresistant buildings in masonry and carpentry. Thisis the base material to build up the capacity of“empirical” masons and prepare them to improvecompetence and better serve their clients. InEcuador as well as in Nicaragua a teaching centerhas been established offering different types ofcourses for empirical masons and carpenters whoare looking to upgrade their capabilities and ac-quire a formal certificate.
has implemented Dual Educationprograms in Nicaragua, Namibia, Ecuador andHaiti. It provides consultancy in establishing com-prehensive know-how transfer including curricula,feasibility studies, scientific knowledge appropria-tion, technical training and business skills.
SwitzerlandGrupo Sofonias
Schatzgutstr. 9, 8750 GlarusTel/Fax ++ 41-55-6401081
NicaraguaSofoNic
Apdo 107, Jinotepe, CaeazoTel/Fax ++505-532 0686
EcuadorFundación EcoSur
PO Box 0601-1404, RiobambaTel/Fax ++ 593 9 329 40574
