Harvesting Skills, Transforming Lives is a training program created by The Pantaleon Group in Guatemala, in which different training schools have been developed to generate and strengthen the technical, behavioral, and transversal skills of our employees and people from surrounding communities in the South Coast.
Since 2007, more than 4,000 employees have been trained with 96% of them having been able to access more specialized positions. Due to its success, in 2022 we expanded the program to communities on the southern coast of Guatemala, creating “Community Training Schools”, benefiting more than 300 people to date. Out of these 300 people, 130 women have participated with 110 of them currently employed. That is, 84% of women trained in non-traditional jobs, who now have a job within the formal economy. It is important to note that the average monthly salary of these women is 77% higher than the country´s agricultural minimum wage. With only these 300 participants employed we estimate to be injecting approximately one million quetzales every month into the local economy of surrounding communities. To date, we have received important recognitions and are generating alliances to continuously improve the program. As an example, this year we received funds from ED&FMAN´S MAS Program to implement 2 cohorts of one of our most famous schools “Female Tractor Operators Schools”, training 61 women.
How was this program born?
During the past decades, we have defined and implemented an integral business model that drives operational efficiency and places at its core responsibility and commitment to our environment and human capital. We managed to create a comprehensive sustainability policy called Responsible Development, which dictates the relationship between economic growth, people´s well-being, social harmony, and the responsible use of resources in a process of continuous innovation and improvement. It encompasses 4 axes: People, Prosperity, Planet and Product, with important goals and metrics for the 2013-2024 period.
In PEOPLE we focus on promoting the well-being of our employees as well as their professional growth, health, and safety through different programs, because we are certain that taking care of and developing the human capital that we harvest is one of our greatest competitive advantages. One of the goals was to generate and implement technical training programs to develop the capabilities of our labor force. In 2022 alone, we carried out 174,097 hours of technical trainings. Once of the initiatives born under this objective, aimed specifically at our operational workers in Guatemala, is the “Harvesting Skills Transforming Lives” program.
This technical training program designs tailor made Training Schools to increase the technical knowledge and soft skills of our workers, so that they can execute their skills optimally and achieve more specialized-higher-paying positions. The program also allows us to develop new technological skills to modernize our workforce and stay ahead of the growing dynamics of mechanization. To date, we have benefited more than 4,000 employees with 96% of them moving onto higher positions. At the same time, we identified a growing demand for specialized roles in the industry due to a substantial increase in the rotation of male operational staff directly linked to migration. This is why, in 2022, we began its implementation in surrounding communities, through which we have trained over 367 people in neighboring communities with the technical skills required to enter the agro-industrial world and acquire new jobs. Our “Community Training Schools” have a strong focus on women development under the foundation that they play a pivotal role in the long-term development of their communities in both economic and social terms. Of the 130 who have completed the trainings, 84% of them are currently employed.
Why focus on women?
Through this project, we will contribute to the empowerment of women from the communities surrounding the area of influence of Pantaleon Mill in Guatemala by strengthening their technical skills and behavioral competencies to enter the labor market. At the same time, they will receive practical knowledge and recommendations that will have positive externalities in the families and communities. Some of the integral modules taught to women are created in partnership with FUNDAZUCAR, the social arm of the sugar guild in Guatemala, and include themes such as women empowerment, adaptation into the workplace, nutrition and health tips, integral health, among others. We are sure our training program will contribute to generating conditions that motivate participants to stay in the country with their sons and daughters and in turn lessen migration. We are providing them with practical tools to achieve a higher quality of life and increase the access of economic opportunities in the country.
Training women will generate a positive impact in their local economy, diversifying employment opportunities and promoting the inclusion and leadership of women in a sector traditionally occupied by men. This is why we are currently working on a strategy to increase our female participation to reach 30% of the workforce by 2023.