Skilled Labor in Mexico Growing in Numbers

Skilled Labor in Mexico has been the focus of Mexico’s educational systems for years, but renewed emphasis in recent years has produced a boom. Mexico’s government has become quite proactive in training their youth to fill skilled roles in manufacturing and other areas vital in a global market. And Mexican vocational training programs are often sponsored by private industry and universities. The Mexican path has been to draw from the Germ model of apprenticeships, and the resulting boom may well fill the vacuum of skilled labor currently developing in North America.

Skilled Labor in Mexico Involves German-Model Apprenticeships

The German model of training skilled labor has been quite effective in Europe. And Mexico is experiencing great results with it as well. In this model, private companies typically partner with universities to combine relevant classroom training alongside hands-on experience in the field.

• The Bendix Program:

One such program is led by Bendix, a member of the Knorr-Bremse Group, a German braking-systems manufacturing leader. Their program trains 240 students for one-two months each year via 12 courses in occupational safety, quality, metrology, lean manufacturing, problem-solving tools, leadership, teamwork, and more. Students study four days each week in classrooms and one day per week in the manufacturing facility. After the training, Bendix typically hires most of these apprentices full time.

• The Volkswagen Group Academy:

Another such program is the Volkswagen Group Academy, which provides students with a three-year course and all related expenses and then guarantees graduates employment with VW or one of its suppliers. The best trainee of each class is awarded an all-expenses-paid trip to Germany. Programs like this one are becoming quite common in Mexico.

Skilled Labor in Mexico is Looking to the Future

Mexico’s focus on skilled labor is part of the country’s vision for the future. Years ago, the Latin America country observed the need for manufacturing and other skilled labor roles and responded in kind. Mexico has aggressively pursued the strategic objectives for its vocational and technological education initiative (VET). As such Mexican vocational training has been quite successful, with some accomplishments including:

• 52 institutions have been granted authority to evaluate and certify competencies.
• The Occupational Competency Standardization and Certification Council now issues approximately 60,000 certificates per year on average.
• Approximately 140 competency management committees have been formed across such fields as construction, automotive, tourism, and renewable energy.

Mexico skilled labor is enjoying a boost in nearly every field, thanks to this renewed emphasis on sensible training programs and partnership between the private sector and academia. The German model of apprenticeships has served them well. Mexican vocational training programs are among the finest in the world, producing a skilled workforce that will meet North American demand for decades to come.

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