Published Tuesday, June 16, 2020
Free training for developing
technical skills
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff


Coursera company, an online education platform, is offering free online training for 50,000 people on technical skills for the next 6 months, announced the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency, CINDE, on Monday.

According to CINDE, this initiative is one part of a reskilling and retooling strategy that Costa Rica currently has underway, which defines three main areas for talent development: career management, soft skills, and technical skills.

The project offers different learning routes, designed according to each user profile, to enable free access to courses from some of the most prestigious universities and companies in the world, said CINDE in its statement.

The project is the result of a collaborative effort between Costa Rican public institutions and the support of the International Development Bank, IDB.

According to President Carlos Alvarado, these free trainings are an effort being carried out by the government to reactivate employment, since it will allow thousands of people to access courses facilitated by prestigious international universities from their homes.

He added that the nearly 40 defined learning routes “have been reviewed by different companies in the country, according to the profiles with the highest demand, which will allow the beneficiaries to improve their digital, strategic, and technical skills to strengthen their profiles."

These free classes are an opportunity for unemployed and those interested in advancing their career to learn new technical skills.

“The pandemic has affected hundreds of millions of jobs around the world, including the livelihoods of many Costa Ricans,” said Jeff Maggioncalda, CEO of Coursera. “We are proud to partner with President Alvarado, CINDE, the Ministry of Labor, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide displaced workers with access to job-relevant skills needed to reenter the workforce.”

Each program user will receive support to complete their plan of study and certify their knowledge. Plans include digital, strategic, and technical skills, including programming, cybersecurity, sustainability, blockchain, artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship, and data science, among others.

Learning path construction has been reviewed and validated by leading companies from various sectors, including multinational companies, with the goal of honing new knowledge and skills in key areas of business transformation, said CINDE.

According to the World Economic Forum, Costa Rica is the Latin American leader for human capital ratios and digital skills, which make the successful implementation of platforms like Coursera a natural fit. In addition, the country stands out for its dynamic ecosystem of multinational companies and local businesses, which together promote skill-development initiatives in their workforce, as a response to the current crisis.

In this way, Costa Rica strengthens its competitiveness and ability to attract investment, and positions itself as a key figure in Industry 4.0, in order to achieve a significant boost in economic recovery and job creation, for everyone affected by the pandemic, in sectors such as services, digital technologies, and tourism.

More information on the free courses can be reached on the Coursera website.




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