One of the main challenges that young Guatemalans face in accessing employment is informality and limited opportunities to acquire work experience, according to Carlos Benítez Verdún, representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
“Youth employment is a two-sided coin. There are cultural, technical and formal elements that prevent young people from having opportunities in the labor market today, but at the same time there are also other opportunities that are being generated and need scale,” he stated.
Benítez pointed out that every year between 180,000 and 200,000 young people seek to join the labor market in Guatemala, a labor force that must be absorbed mainly by the private sector. However, he indicated that a large part of this population ends up joining the informal economy.
“The first challenge is informality. When absorption is not through the formal market, young people go to the informal market. 70% of young people are in the informal market,” he indicated.
Furthermore, he explained that one of the main obstacles for those looking for their first job is lack of experience, which ends up becoming a barrier to entry into the formal market.
In this context, the My First Employment Scholarship program formally began in the Ministry of Social Development in 2013, so that in May 2021 it would move to the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (Mintrab). This is an initiative aimed at young people between 18 and 24 years old who do not have formal work experience.
As of December 1, 2025, 118 of the 723 beneficiaries of the My First Employment scholarship had already been hired by the companies where they carried out their work practices. According to data from the Ministry of Labor, in 2024 the program had a budget of Q6.3 million to benefit 678 young people. By 2025, the amount increased to Q6.5 million, with which 630 scholarships were financed.
The program allows beneficiaries to work as apprentices in private sector companies for four months. During that period, the State covers 51% of the salary and companies, the remaining 49%. In addition, it guarantees access to the Guatemalan Social Security Institute (IGSS) and employment benefits such as bonuses, vacations and compensation.
Benítez considered that programs such as My First Job represent an opportunity to address one of the main challenges faced by young people: obtaining work experience and accessing formal employment. However, he added that these initiatives need to be expanded and converted into long-term sustainable public policies.
This is an excerpt from the conversation he had with Free press.
What risks does it imply for the country not to generate enough formal opportunities for this young population that joins the labor market every year?
It is interesting to talk about the demographic dividend that Guatemala has. We believe that, from an economic perspective, it is one of the most important opportunities that the country has. The demographic dividend means that there is still a much larger active young population than the inactive population. But that will last very little: between eight and ten years, more or less.
The opportunity lies in seeing how the enabling conditions are optimized so that young people can truly enter the labor market in a qualified manner. And we already know what the repercussions are when that does not happen: exclusion and forced migration.
That is why public policies are needed that expand and, at the same time, are sustained. They are state policies that can go beyond government cycles. And they also have to have a high participation of the private sector, because it is the one that formally houses this young force with a lot of potential.
When we talk about public policies, they should not only be government policies, but there must be a high participation of the private sector, because it is the one that formally houses, or should formally help, this force of young people.
The demographic bonus is an element that must have more enablers, which come from inclusion, education, technology and prospecting. We are no longer talking only about the young people who are currently there, but also about the boys and girls who would enter the labor market in the next five years.
One of the challenges for young people is the lack of work experience. How can this be addressed through a national apprenticeship programme?
The issue of the first job is always a challenge for any economy; However, there are some stronger ones, capable of absorbing it. In Guatemala there is the Beca Mi Primer Empleo program and, although it is an interesting initiative, it has to gain scale. In 2024 it generated around 700 entries to the formal market and last year, around 900. But we need scale.
It is a public-private commitment in which the public sector pays 51% of the salary for four or five months and 49% is covered by the private sector. This investment is important because it allows learning during the first months of employment.
The first condition that young people have to access the labor market is the first eligibility criterion, that is, experience. One can have all the academic merits, but if one does not have work experience one enters a vicious circle. So, the My First Job scholarship addresses that first challenge.
What is needed for these programs to scale?
The challenges related to enlargement have to do with structural factors. First, there must be an economy and a private sector that generate more employment opportunities.
All the enabling factors for the growth of the economy and the private sector have to occur constantly. And, at the same time, the offer must grow not only in quantity, but also in quality.
The quantity exists. We are talking about 200 thousand people a year. So, for that to be maintained, there has to be a policy that accelerates the basic conditions related to education, technology and inclusion.
It must also be understood that the youth labor market is part of a broader economic ecosystem. Guatemala is not a small economy; It is the largest economy in the subregion and is growing. But that growth has to be inclusive.
When we see the labor market by territory, the conditions are more complex. For example, the informal market for young indigenous women can reach close to 80%.
What differences would a national apprenticeship system have compared to other scholarship or internship programs?
The expansion comes not only from a matter of scale, but from understanding the market through supply and demand. It is not only about improving the quality of education, but about studying exactly what the market is going to need in the next five years. The technological aspect deserves to be studied in depth.
Nowadays, betting only on traditional four or five-year university systems is no longer enough. Parallel systems must be generated much faster in terms of technology.
More than the scale, we must see what type of multiple and complementary programs are needed. It could be My First Job, it could be entrepreneurship or it could be other systems.
Today people have to have digital skills, more numerical skills and more soft skills. They are three central elements in the new perspective of the labor market.
What are the minimum elements that a national apprenticeship system should have?
First, the inclusion aspect. One can generate very effective educational systems, but they could end up being elitist. Second, it has to be a State policy, not just a government or ministry policy.
Access to education remains a barrier. Poverty and extreme poverty are factors that limit this access.
Scholarship programs and social protection systems are also important. Many Latin American countries have opted for scholarship and specialized training systems. Chile, Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia did it.
How can we make these policies sustainable over time and survive changes in government?
Sustainability is a challenge for all public policy. It has to be a job for the State, not just the government.
There must be programs with multi-year budgets, endorsed and guaranteed by law. There is no secret: sustainability comes from public policies supported by laws and budgets established for each year.
But that requires an important social pact and also has to do with elements of governance.
Who should lead these public policies?
Leadership has to come from the State and the government, because they are the ones who must generate the enabling conditions for the participation of the private sector.
But there have to be effective public-private partnerships. We work a lot with the private sector and we see a genuine interest in improving the socioeconomic conditions of the country. We do not see that relationship as a loss relationship, but as a win-win relationship.
What incentives would be interesting for the private sector?
The main incentive is training. They are intensive induction programs where people develop specific skills for a sector. If a company trains a young person for four or five months, it has more guarantees that they will adapt effectively to the company.
Furthermore, young people already come with intuitive technological skills that previous generations did not have. This generates an important balance within the human and technical resources of companies.
What should be the concrete next steps?
First, accelerate education through conventional systems and new learning systems. Second, close technological gaps. The national digitalization plan is an important commitment. And third, continue betting on social investment in the territories from a perspective of inclusion.
What could the youth labor market look like in the coming years if the national apprenticeship program is established?
The labor market is changing with very rapid dynamics. Neither the academy nor the government systems manage to adapt with the speed with which this happens.
There will be traditional sectors, but much more technical. For example, the agricultural sector already needs technological knowledge linked to productivity and climate change.
There are also opportunities in the technology sector, in artificial intelligence, systems development and digital services. There are many young people who already work in these sectors from Guatemala.
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