Jorge Márquez Gaspar - Business Development Specialist

The Trust for the Americas lanzó este mayo 2023 su primer programa enfocado en capacitación de fuerza laboral verde. Apalancándose en la exitosa experiencia de POETA, S4S brindará capacitación y vinculación laboral a poblaciones vulnerables y de bajos ingresos para puestos en el sector de gestión de agua y aguas residuales en El Paso, Texas, Estados Unidos, y Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, México. Este programa busca brindar a poblaciones vulnerables de ambos lados de la frontera EEUU/México las habilidades que requieren los empleadores, cerrando la brecha entre las personas que desean una carrera estable, y el sector del agua y las empresas que hacen un uso intensivo de este escaso recurso; las cuales, a su vez, necesitan urgentemente una fuerza laboral calificada para operar sus instalaciones. Luego de dos visitas a El Paso y Ciudad Juárez por parte de Jorge Márquez Gaspar, Especialista de Desarrollo de Negocios, y Christopher Barton, consultor del proyecto, este programa cuenta con el apoyo financiero del Banco de Desarrollo de America del Norte – NADBank, Microsoft, y otras empresas privadas, incluyendo Water House Group. Además, se logró establecer alianzas estratégicas con la Junta Municipal de Aguas y Saneamiento de Juárez, El Paso Water, la Cámara Nacional de Comercio de Juárez, El Paso Chamber of Commerce, entre otras organizaciones. Luego de dos meses de reclutamiento de potenciales participantes, este próximo agosto comenzará la capacitación de la primera cohorte de 70 beneficiarios del programa junto a Jóvenes Constructores de la Comunidad (JCC), nuestro socio local de Ciudad Juárez, y Success Through Technology Education Foundation (STTE) y Western Tech, nuestros socios locales en El Paso. Próximamente traeremos más noticias sobre este programa que busca promover el desarrollo sostenible de esta región binacional.

The Trust for the Americas launched this May 2023 its first program focused on green workforce training. Leveraging on the successful experience of POETA, S4S will provide training and job placement to vulnerable and low-income populations for positions in the water and wastewater management sector in El Paso, Texas, United States, and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico. This program seeks to provide vulnerable populations on both sides of the US/Mexico border with the skills that employers require, closing the gap between people who want a stable career. This will also aid the water sector and companies that make intensive use of this resource and urgently need a skilled workforce to operate their facilities. After two visits to El Paso and Ciudad Juárez by Jorge Márquez Gaspar, Business Development Specialist, and Christopher Barton, project consultant, this program has the financial support of the North American Development Bank – NADBank, Microsoft, and other private companies, including Water House Group. In addition, strategic alliances were established with the Juárez Municipal Water and Sanitation Board, El Paso Water, the Juárez National Chamber of Commerce, and the El Paso Chamber of Commerce, among other organizations. After two months of recruiting potential participants, this coming August the training of the first cohort of 70 beneficiaries of the program will begin together with Jóvenes Constructores de la Comunidad (JCC), our local partner in Ciudad Juárez, Success Through Technology Education Foundation (STTE) and Western Tech, our local partners in El Paso. Soon we will bring more news about this program that seeks to promote the sustainable development of this binational region.

Last Thursday, June 9th, I had the opportunity to present, along with our Senior Advisor, Milton Drucker, our project Skills for Sustainability (S4S) at the NADBank Board of Directors Public Meeting in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua. NADBank is an international financial institution established by the United States and Mexico to develop and finance environmental infrastructure projects within the U.S.-Mexico border region.  We presented the project\’s objective to provide training and job placement for vulnerable, low-income populations for positions in the water management sector on the US-Mexico border. Through training, we aim to close the gap between many people who have the native ability and desire for positions but lack instruction. Therefore, employers who have vacant positions will be capable of hiring trained workers.   Furthermore, this project aspires to improve water management in the Rio Grande Valley and foster sustainable regional development.  One of the key aspects we mentioned in the presentation is the work with local partners, including COPARMEX on the Mexican side along with the Tecnológico de Monterrey and the University of Texas, El Paso. Strengthening institutions is an essential part of this project to sustain the work long after the NADBank funding ends. The Trust sees this first implementation as a pilot, in the hopes that a successful project will attract additional private sector support so it can be replicated in other metropolitan regions along the US-Mexico border.  Finally, we publicly thanked the NADBank team for their support and collaboration in having the vision to develop this innovative project. As well as for working closely with us to bring it to this table. We are also grateful to Microsoft for the generous support of cash commitments and software licenses that will go a long way towards making this pilot project a success.