Case study

Using feedback to drive impact differently for unemployed youth in Guatemala 

Jessica Hammer is Co-founder and CEO of Programa Valentina, an organization that is bridging the skills and employment gap for young people in Guatemala. On a mission to tackle youth unemployment, Programa Valentina works directly with employers on their hiring needs by scouting and preparing youth to fill job opportunities. Since starting Programa Valentina, Jessica has grown her business model from an all-girls coding program to a six-week intensive bootcamp on technical and soft skills training for employment.  

But the shift in focus from coding program to bootcamp was a lesson in understanding the household voice, which meant designing the right programs that fit the needs of students and employers. 

“It’s hard to approach someone with an idea and convince them to adopt it. But if you can identify a customer’s problem and be clear about how you can help solve that problem, then people will be more open and willing to work with you,” says Jessica.

Looking to place girls in coding jobs, Jessica surveyed different companies on open positions in coding and computer programming but quickly learned that the skills being taught at Programa Valentina didn’t match the needs of employers.

“Companies needed coders with 5+ years of experience and a college degree,” says Jessica. “We realized that even if we kept going with the program, these types of skills were not what the market was looking for.” 

After interviewing students, Jessica also learned that young adults were eager to break into the formal economy. They didn’t necessarily care about getting a coding job; they cared about getting a quality job that could serve as an on-ramp to a stable career and future. They also didn’t have 10 months to wait for a job. They needed one now. 

Jessica realized Programa Valentina’s impact would be more sustainable if they focused on job security. Instead of continuing with the coding program, they pivoted back to the problem at hand — youth unemployment. They began listening to their household and re-designing programs at an organizational level, which eventually helped them scale their impact across the job market.

Case study 

Using feedback to drive impact differently for unemployed youth in Guatemala 

To better address the needs of students and employers, Programa Valentina gained valuable insights by interviewing them. Through customer feedback, they were able to redefine what success looks like for the company and transformed their offering into a six-week intensive bootcamp on basic technical and soft skills training for employment. Here’s how they’ve restructured their program to drive impact differently. 

First, they consult with employers on their hiring needs and design a customized training program based on desired skills. Then, they recruit candidates by assessing their soft and technical skills, and build an initial diagnosis based on their level of professional development. Based on this diagnosis, Programa Valentina chooses the candidates who have the potential to make it through the program, and the program is adjusted to match the needs of the candidates. For example, candidates that have more developed skills are enrolled in a shorter, more targeted program that accelerates the time from training to job placement. 

The program also runs workshops and trainings to emulate real experiences in the workplace and assess how participants react in different situations. Using a series of ongoing tests, Programa Valentina defines, measures, and certifies participants’ soft skills. Upon completion of the program, participants are matched to employers based on their unique skills and qualifications. 

“It took us a year and a half to rework the pilot, and it’s still changing. But for now, we understand where we want to create impact,” says Jessica.

Case study 

Using feedback to drive impact differently for unemployed youth in Guatemala 

Following their successful programming, Programa Valentina was recruited to help a big supermarket chain in Guatemala City rethink their management strategy, and train and hire 150 new cashiers that would be both self-sufficient and sales-driven in their new position. 

When Programa Valentina advertised the job posting in their participant database, only four people showed interest in working for the supermarket. Once again, Jessica and her team deployed customer interviews to understand why.  

“We discovered that some people thought it would be a downgrade of their expectations for a job. We had to redirect our search elsewhere, so I thought, ‘Where could we find a population that liked sales, wouldn’t mind working hard hours, and would look at working at a supermarket as an upgrade to their expectations?’”

Using the insights gained from customer interviews, and pivoting to find an alternative group of potential candidates, Programa Valentina was able to recruit a group of young people from the streets into the program and successfully place them into steady jobs. 

“We learned about all these kids that shine shoes on the streets. There were already a few programs that were helping kids get off the streets and into schools, and because of their life experiences, they had already acquired the skills we were looking for,” Jessica explains. 

Following this experience, Jessica realized the unique value proposition of her business: Programa Valentina could identify a talent problem and look to the market to provide a solution. 

It became increasingly apparent that Programa Valentina was in a position to level the playing field. By encouraging a more inclusive environment, the program could attract a diverse group of applicants and inspire companies to think outside the box in resolving their hiring needs. 

“If we can educate companies on different ways to look for talent and skills, we can help create alternatives for people who have fallen through the cracks of the workforce development system,” she adds.