Cooperation to promote quality employment in Honduras

In Honduras, more than half of the active population is faced with the impossibility of entering the formal labour market and having a decent job. This means that more than 1.7 million people do not have access to social security, working in precarious conditions with incomes below the minimum wage. 

Within such a context, the European Union  (EU) has financed the EUROLABOR  programme, working for more than two years to develop skills at a national level to foster employment in Honduras. The project, which has just concluded, was overseen by FIIAPP in close collaboration with the Honduran Ministry of Employment and Social Security.   

For 30 months, Honduran and European specialists have worked together with the country’s institutions to systematically promote decent employment, especially among the young, who are most heavily disadvantaged by unemployment, underemployment and informal employment, thus fostering sustainable development within the country.  

The project has specifically focused on strengthening national capacities in the creation of quality employment through the exchange of successful experiences of institutions in the European Union and Latin America in this area.  

To these ends, it has worked with the Honduran Ministry of Employment and Social Security and other key national institutions such as the Honduran Economic and Social Council, the National Employment Service and the National Institute of Professional Training, among others, through consultations focusing on the design of economic, social and regulatory policies that affect employment in central economic, social and regulatory areas at a national, regional and local level. Training materials have also been prepared for the Ministry of Employment and Social Security employees, with public and private expertise from the EU and Latin America also being involved.   

Among other activities, assistance in the definition of the National Employment Policy adopted in 2017 and support for the creation of a Joint Action Framework as a strategic and operational tool in the country should be highlighted.  

In order to achieve the expected results, the project has enjoyed the active participation of various national and regional Spanish public administration bodies as sources of expertise, including the Junta de Extremadura Public Employment Service, the Madrid Region Public Employment Service, the Generalitat Valenciana Employment and Training Service and Spain’s Economic and Social Council.