How Do Our Kids Get Jobs After Leaving Casa Bernabé?
Every parent wonders what their kids will go on to do when they grow up. It's always a challenge to equip your children for the future while honoring their individual journeys. This is even more true when you're parenting a large number of kids, especially if you only get a few years with them to make a difference in their lives.
As our kids at Casa Bernabé reach their teenage years, we begin working with them to develop skills they can someday use to get a job. Our Vocational Program, run by Mario, who is also one of our house dads, trains the kids in marketable skills. The kids love Mario, and he's been a huge blessing in an area where we really need a trusted staff member who connects well with our teen kids.
We currently offer training in aesthetics/beauty, professional baking, and balloon arranging/party decorating. If you want to see photos, you have come to the right place!
Each of our kids ages 13 to 17 meets with our Vocational Program team regularly. They design a plan for independent living and future prospects with each adolescent and guide them in choosing a career path at the secondary, university, or technical level. The team monitors their progress over the next few years to prepare them for integration into Guatemala society outside of Casa Bernabé, providing them with the tools and skills to face life's challenges.
Our recently graduated kids, the kids of our staff members, and even several staff also participate in the Vocational Program and pursue certifications in one of our fields of study.
All of the training is provided through the INTECAP Technical Training Institute, a well known trade school certification institute in Central America. This allows our kids to achieve the necessary competency for an accredited certification at the end of their training courses that they can use to get a job in the future. This year we've also opened our Vocational Program to the students from the local community who attend school at Casa Bernabé, maximizing the impact of the program. Personal development workshops are also offered to the community kids once a month, as well as training on how to create life plans.
This year there are 18 participants in the balloon workshop. On April 9th, they completed the first module on decorating themed parties with balloons. On April 24th, they began the second module to learn additional techniques.
The balloon skills they're learning are easy to immediately put into practice at Casa Bernabé, because there is no shortage of parties to decorate for. Edgar and Sara recently hired several of the kids from that class to decorate for Bella's quinceañera. They've also been hired to decorate another quinceañera, and the campus dads hired them this week to create a balloon arrangement for each of the moms for Mother's Day.
We currently have 14 participants in the baking workshop and a couple hundred willing taste testers. Since February, they have been studying the science and theory behind baking bread, covering topics such as hygiene, food handling, food storage, the importance of personal care, and the condition of bakery equipment.
Soon they will move on to the fun part and begin baking breads, cakes, cookies, and delicious desserts. It really is amazing what a high level of baking mastery they're able to achieve during these classes. If you're ever fortunate enough to taste their work, we know you'll agree!
We have a small tienda (store) at the top of the hill just outside the gate of Casa Bernabé by the bus stop, and some of our older kids who have already completed their Professional Baker certification like to sell some of their freshly baked items to commuters while they wait. They also learn valuable business skills from running this shop. Next time you're at Casa Bernabé make sure to stop by the tienda or the bakery and offer to taste test whatever's cooking. The kids love to show off their skills to an appreciative audience!
We have 15 kids in the aesthetics workshop. Since February they have been learning how to do spa manicures and pedicures. The next module they will take will be acrylic nails, and then they will move on to hair cutting, styling, and special occasion hair. We currently have an instructor who is challenging them to master what they are doing so they will leave this class with genuinely marketable skills.
There are plenty of chances to practice beauty and hair care skills on a campus with almost 200 people, and no one minds being their test case if it means relaxing during a spa pedicure in the middle of the day. The girls in our aesthetics class have done hair cuts for each other, the other kids, staff members, and the occasional brave visitor who is up for a new look. They also help do hair for quinceañeras and other parties on campus, and everyone loves having a full service salon right on our campus.
When the aesthetics class was finishing last year, INTECAP connected Mario to a local school in a community where many people could not afford regular haircuts. Our kids got to put their skills into practice immediately and serve this community by providing a day of free haircuts to anyone who needed one. Most of our kids come from communities like this one where most families don't have the resources to visit a salon, so it was very impactful for them to be able to return to a community similar to where they came from and offer their skills to help others. One of our teens was also recently able to give his biological father a haircut during one of our family visit days.
Another skill learning opportunity on campus that isn't part of our official Vocational Program is helping in the kitchen. All of our teenage kids take a turn in the kitchen each week helping our six cooks prepare the meals for everyone on campus, and some of the kids have really taken to the culinary arts. When we have special groups in town like a board meeting, they like to show off their skills and help the cooks prepare elevated, restaurant quality food. The cooks have also taught them how to wait a table, preparing them to find jobs in restaurants after graduation if they want to.
Since starting the Vocational Program, we've had a much easier time finding jobs for our kids once they turn 18. They're leaving Casa Bernabé not only with a secondary school degree, but with marketable skills as well. Guatemalans love to celebrate, so there are always parties to decorate for, and there are bakeries and beauty salons everywhere you look in the area around Casa Bernabé.
The goal of our Vocational Program is to give our kids not only marketable skills in the specific areas we offer training in, but to equip them with a way to find work while they figure out what they want to do. Some of them will go on to have careers in baking, party planning, or the beauty industry. But others will pursue other career paths, some of which will require further education, and the skills they learn through the Vocational Program will allow them to leave Casa Bernabé and immediately find a job to support them while they work through the next steps of their journey.
