With 140 years of outstanding activity in language teaching, Berlitz participates in the Jóvenes a Programar "Álvaro Lamé" project developed by Plan Ceibal. Almary Bengoechea, Instruction Supervisor at Berlitz Uruguay, talks about an initiative that seeks to facilitate job placement in the communications technology sector. Below is a summary of the interview.
How does Montevideo fit into the activities of Berlitz, a language training centre with a presence in 70 countries?
Uruguay occupies a prominent position at international level, where Berlitz is part of an innovative project such as the Ceibal Plan. We are a service company, with more than 20 years helping companies to train in languages.
When did Berlitz's link to Plan Ceibal come about?
We are very proud to participate in Plan Ceibal in our commitment to creating opportunities for personal and professional development. In 2015 we started our relationship with Ceibal in English by teaching courses to public school students and then we extended our training to secondary schools and UTU. Since last year, we have joined the Jóvenes a Programar "Álvaro Lamé" project, which aims to promote labour insertion in a sector with a high demand for qualified personnel, such as communication technologies. This initiative of the Ceibal Plan is supported by Cuti (Uruguayan Chamber of Information Technology), Fomin-Inter-American Development Bank, the National Institute of Employment and Vocational Training (Inefop), with the aim of providing free programming courses for young people who have completed the basic cycle.
How is the working synergy of this multidisciplinary teaching team?
Students are trained in computer science by professionals who are now working in leading technology companies and organisations. They develop today's software, know how the sector works and know its needs. At the end of the nine-month course, the student masters one of the main programming languages in demand in the industry, such as Java, Python or Genexus, or acquires the necessary knowledge to work in software testing.
In the meantime, our teaching staff teach English language classes accompanied by the development of different tasks on the Ceibal Plan platform itself.
How many students attend this Ceibal Plan programme?
Last year almost 700 graduates from Montevideo and the interior of the country received their certificates, which allow them to enter the labour market as Basic Programmers or Basic Software Testers. This year, 1,000 students are attending Jóvenes a Programar. Most of the students are men, although an increasing number of women are participating in Jóvenes a Programar.
What are the requirements to participate in the course?
Students must be between 17 and 26 years old, have passed the basic cycle of secondary education (third year of high school or UTU) and take the entrance test as part of the enrolment process, which is a general test of basic numeracy, logical reasoning and reading comprehension.
What level of English language training do students receive?
During the weekly classes, the IT students also receive basic English language training. The plans are adjusted to the needs that they will require for subsequent employment in the technology sector. The English language is taught in a practical way and with the appropriate technical vocabulary for software development or software testing.
The English course is interactive and focused on the computer training they are receiving. It is true that the students do not acquire native fluency in English, but they acquire a level that facilitates their integration into the labour market and is a first step towards further progress in learning the language.
How does the English course work for those students who have more advanced knowledge?
Students who already have a certain level of English only complete practical tasks to improve their knowledge and at the same time they are monitored remotely by the Berlitz teacher.
Source: El País
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