Gender and Entrepreneurship Trainers promote economic empowerment and decent work in Peru

Lima – After delivering trainings to more than 600 vulnerable people across Peru, professionals who have already been certified or are in the process of obtaining their certification as Trainers in the ILO Gender and Entrepreneurship – GET Ahead – methodology got together in the First National Meeting of Trainers from the “GET Ahead Peru” Network.

The event was aimed at strengthening this support network, which promotes the development of entrepreneurship and financial independence skills in adolescent and young survivors of trafficking, Peruvian women, Venezuelan migrants and vulnerable population.

The meeting included the participation of GET Ahead Trainers who came from different regions, such as Lima, Callao, Cusco, Madre de Dios, Puno, Ancash and Arequipa.

“It’s the first time that this methodology has been applied to a group that is going through one of the most important stages of life, the transit to adulthood, which involves a series of problems and scarcity created by the exploitation experienced”, stated María del Carmen Barragán, executive director at the National Comprehensive Program for Family Welfare (INABIF).

“Thanks to GET Ahead the adolescent and young survivors of trafficking in our shelters are developing skills and are better prepared for adulthood with more opportunities of having a decent job and achieving social reintegration social

María del Carmen Barragán, executive director at INABIF

INABIF has been implementing the GET Ahead methodology with the technical assistance from the ILO, as part of the pilot program for economic reintegration of young women who age out of the Specialized Trafficking Shelters (CAREs).
María Isabel Quispe, trainer and specialist at the Special Protection Unit of the Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations (MIMP), area in charge of the Foster Family Program, acknowledged that “many mothers in our foster families are professionals who don’t practice their professions and thanks to the GET Ahead methodology training now they can develop their own businesses and reinsert themselves into employment, in order to bring benefits to their personal and family development”.

From Geneva, Virginia Rose Losada, Coordinator of the ILO’s Program for Women's Entrepreneurship Development (WED), congratulated the trainers on their work and motivated them to continue delivering trainings in the GET Ahead methodology.

“Always carry in your hearts the faces and stories of the adolescents and women that you have been able to accompany in their entrepreneurship projects. That will be the guide star towards the discovery of what you are truly capable of achieving

Virginia Rose Losada, ILO-WED Program Coordinator

During the meeting, the video “Tips for the correct application of GET Ahead” was launched. That video resulted from gathering all the experiences from trainers who work with survivors of trafficking and vulnerable population in Peru.

GET Ahead: an empowerment choice

The ILO GET Ahead training and coaching program develops business skills in vulnerable women, in order to eliminate the obstacles these women face when they decide to start their own business.

In addition, through the use of interactive and practical activities, women who participated in the GET Ahead program share their experiences with others, promoting the development and enhancement of soft skills, which are fundamental to have successful businesses.

Click here for more information about the GET Ahead methodology.