Ford Motor de Venezuela opens the fifth cohort of Conduciendo tu Futuro

Ford Motor de Venezuela has opened the fifth cohort of its comprehensive automotive technical training programme Conduciendo tu Futuro, which sets out to offer training opportunities for young people on low incomes in working class areas of Carabobo state, in order to build their employability and entrepreneurial skills in vehicle mechanics and to make them productive members of their communities.

Each cohort of Conduciendo tu Futuro is designed for a total of 30 participants aged between 18 and 25, who over four months receive training inside the Ford Motor de Venezuela plant in both technical and personal areas, with the aim of improving their prospects of entering the world of work and giving them the chance to see a plant like Ford's at close quarters. The programme also carries academic accreditation from the University of Carabobo, through its foundation FundaUC, with the association Trabajo y Persona as its main partner.

"One of the most interesting elements of our programme is that it is built on voluntary work. More than 50 of our workers have given their talent to participants as instructors and speakers on this programme. Other classes are given by staff from Trabajo y Persona, professors from the University of Carabobo and the Jesús Obrero vocational training centre," explains Patricia Fuentes Gimón, public relations and corporate social responsibility manager at Ford Motor de Venezuela.

Once the young people complete the programme, they begin a three year period of support, according to their life plan, covering continued study, educational and productive loans, and help entering the labour market.

"Getting ever more creative in order to be sustainable, since 2015 we have graduated 111 young people who started the programme with a mixture of expectation and uncertainty, and who today have a success story to share," says Miguel Sandoval, marketing manager at Ford Motor de Venezuela.

Through Conduciendo tu Futuro, Ford Motor de Venezuela will keep changing lives, driving education, entrepreneurship and work in the country, and creating a significant impact in communities and among young Venezuelans.

For more information about Ford Motor de Venezuela, visit www.ford.com.ve.