Due to the high demand for coffins during the pandemic, a programme in El Salvador implemented by Swisscontact has adapted its carpentry training to focus on coffin making.
Since 2016, Swisscontact and the Salvadoran Institute for Professional Training INSAFORP have been implementing the programme ‘New Opportunities’, which seeks to reintegrate migrants returning to El Salvador into the job market. Returnees receive support with setting up their businesses or with certifying their skills acquired abroad. To meet the current demand, the Salvadoran returnees are now trained how to make coffins.
In the context of the ongoing pandemic, the training has been specifically adapted to teach carpentry skills for coffin making. Some returning migrants have never made a coffin before, but they are grateful to take a course and turn it into a work opportunity. Returnees can complete 50 learning hours to receive a professional certification, which will make it easier for them to integrate into the labour market. To work with more returning migrants, the programme has been scaled up, expanding into new areas.
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