This year, more than 1,500 Guatemalans have received a certificate from the Ministry of Education (Mineduc) that supports the knowledge, skills and competencies acquired in trades and occupations that they learned outside the classroom. Having that support is useful when people apply for a job either They are looking to start a business.
Carlos Aldana, vice minister of Extracurricular Education, pointed out that In 2025, 13,202 people will be certifiedwho previously underwent an evaluation to determine their mastery in the area they work in.
The goal for 2026 is to deliver certifications to about 20 thousand peopleamong them about 9,500 students from experimental schools.
The objective of this program is “to contribute to generating opportunities that promote social and labor development, improve living conditions, dignify employment and strengthen people’s self-esteem,” he added.
During 2026, Mineduc will hold several competency certification sessions. The first was in May and they were delivered 1,505 certificates. The departments with the greatest participation are Guatemala, Quiché, Petén and Chimaltenango. It is planned to hold an extemporaneous session in August, and the second regular session will be in October.
How does it work?
Aldana indicated that interested persons must register at any of the departmental directorates of Education, in charge of organizing the competency certification sessions.
Then, interested parties are summoned on a specific date so that professionals from different areas can evaluate them. The process lasts between three and four hours, as each person must carry out various activities to demonstrate your skills in the trade or occupation in which you wish to become certified.
“It is a system that evaluates and certifies people based on their experience, not their training,” said the vice minister.
The catalog includes 180 jobs in which people can receive an accreditation supported by the Mineduc, including artistic activities, electricity and electronics, mechanical manufacturing, wood and furniture manufacturing, sale of goods and services, transportation and vehicle maintenance, fishing and aquaculture, and construction.
They can also become certified as firefighters. According to Aldana, the National Volunteer Firefighters School is in charge of providing training and training. In addition, it carries out the evaluation in coordination with the ministry, which is responsible for issuing the certification.
Participation in certification sessions It is open to people 15 years and older and is free.
“It is an opportunity for people to have a certificate, an institutional assessment granted by the Government of Guatemala, through the Ministry of Education, that allows them to say: ‘I master this trade,’ whether for work reasons or for a simple matter of dignity,” said the official.
Abroad
This year, the Ministry of Education coordinates with the Guatemalan consulate in Montreal, Canada, the certification of fellow nationals residing in that country, so that they have a document that supports their knowledge and skills in the trades they perform.
The Ministry of Education hopes to deliver three thousand 500 certifications of skills in Canada.
On the other hand, Aldana mentioned that they also seek to reach returned Guatemalan migrants, who have gained experience in the jobs they performed during their stay abroad.
According to information from the Guatemalan Migration Institute (IGM), as of June 11, 2026 28,417 compatriots have returned from the United States and Mexico. of the group, or8 out of 10 worked in those countriesand the main area in which they worked was construction, followed by cooking, gardening and agriculture.