The Occupational Training Programme for Women Heads of Households of Chile (Spanish acronym PMJH) is co-ordinated by a body called SERNAM (National Women’s Service) and implemented by local municipalities. It has the backing of several State organisations, among which SENCE is perhaps the most outstanding. It started as a pilot plan in 1992 and began to expand gradually in 1994, to reach the communes of all the regions of the country. In its beginnings the PMJH had widespread political support that was expressed not only through its budget but also by being granted sufficient time to effectively design a pilot model, evaluate its results and subsequently launch a regular programme.

Its general objective is to improve the economic capacity of women who head households, and to raise their standard of living and that of their families, banishing any discrimination that may affect them.

More specific objectives are:

• Developing the abilities and skills of participating women to facilitate their access to labour markets and performance in them.
• Broadening and diversifying their labour options by training them in non-traditional trades and supporting independent activities.

• Creating mechanisms to bridge the gap between labour demand and women in the Programme that require a change of job.
• Broadening and consolidating institutional support networks in the areas of health and child care.

The Programme’s lines of action are as follows:

• Labour: Occupational Training (Municipal Team), Training in labour relations and wages negotiation (SENCE), Support of independent work ((Fosis), Levelling in elementary and secondary education (Ministry of Education, Municipalities).
• Access to health services.
• Child care.
• Legal advice.

Expected output are women graduates from the Training programme, socially and technically apt to perform with personal independence in the world of labour. Women are expected to know their rights ant to use existing institutional networks.

The Programme’s management and methodology emphasise:

An integral approach, as denoted by the implementation of five parallel and complementary lines of action (occupational training, child care, housing, health and legal advice)

Double focus on the more vulnerable social groups (low-income women heads of households) and territorial demarcation of areas concentrating poverty.

Participation ,taking women as policy subjects and not just beneficiaries.

And the decentralised nature of the Programme and design of the Project, its execution at the level of local (municipal) authorities and co-ordination of public and private resources at local, regional and national level.

The total Universe of the Programme includes 245.000 women and its coverage had reached 37,000 women in 1998 in 86 Communes all over the country, representing rather more than 8% of all women heads of households and below the poverty line. A coverage of 63,000 women is expected for the year 2001.

The Programme is being implemented preferably in urban Communes of more than 30,000 inhabitants, with a high concentration of women below the poverty line acting as heads of their respective households.