Project Launch:

CETPRO is a vocational school in Carhuaz, Peru that offers adolescents, young adults, and adults the opportunity to pursue a two-year technical degree in either textile arts or cosmetology. At the moment 43 of the 45 students are female, and about 70% are between the ages of 15-24. CETPRO's goal is to equip students with the skills necessary to obtain employment in their field or potentially establish a business of their own in the future, though many of its students struggle to do so.

This project will establish a Skills Implementation Center off site, which will be run by the school's students as an actual salon and textiles business. Students will practice working with customers, gain experience working with industrial equipment, and essentially get a feel for what it's like to be employed. Their customers will be actual Carhuaz residents and each student who graduates from CETPRO will receive a certificate indicating how many hours they committed to working in the Skills Implementation Center. Income generated from the center will be reinvested in the business and in the school itself, to ensure that both are sustainable and to increase the likelihood that graduates will be able to obtain employment.