Opportunities Should Be Promoted in Haiti
Marlène Sam
Marléne Sam, Employment Coordinator for Ayitic Goes Global, highlights the excellent level of digital skills that program graduates have acquired. Despite the current political unrest in Haiti, several graduates have successfully completed internships in the local market and others have consolidated the first clients on online talent platforms. Sam carries out a personalized mentoring program for graduates to try to help them find opportunities within Haiti’s digital ecosystem.
What digital skills did the young women develop through the training offered by Ayitic Goes Global?
Better office software skills, an introduction to spreadsheets, particularly their use for the presentation of data in an organized and logical manner so that it can be leveraged once it has been collected through market studies and surveys.
The ability to search for information and other skills needed to work online, such as how to design and format the data compiled through interviews.
But also, the use of online tools and platforms such as Slack and WhatsApp for learning or for professional communications and interactions.
Did the skills these women acquired improve their opportunities of having access to a job?
Yes. In fact, some of these women have already proven that they can implement their recently acquired abilities. currently under way to identify the number of jobs secured by the women who successfully completed the program, partial results are available that show that many of the girls and women have managed to have a job or an occupation (sometimes voluntarily transmitting their ICT skills).part time.
For example, one of the women who graduated from the program explained how the skills she acquired helped her within the framework of a field study for a private company.
As employment coordinator, what role did you play in the search for potential job opportunities for these young women? How do you think the Ayitic Goes Global experience has affected the daily lives of the graduates?
I started in this position in July, when I proceeded to finalize and relaunch the mentoring program to offer graduates qualified and personalized training, to allow them to interact with role models and to network within the ICT ecosystem.
I also searched for opportunities for our graduates, placing them in contact with new companies offering online job opportunities (three young women working on computer graphics at PIXLAB); searching for complementary training opportunities based on the demands identified on different platforms (programming and free Python course for 13 beneficiaries); offering direct assistance, especially by publishing or supervising their work on their first assignments to show them the importance of a job well done.
What are the main obstacles these women face when attempting to secure an online job?
Our graduates had to face well-known obstacles such as the problems affecting infrastructure, and which have become significantly worse as a result of the socioeconomic crisis. Difficulties include an unreliable electricity supply due to the lack of fuel and the public utility's reduction of the number of hours during which electrical service is available, as well as the deterioration of Internet connectivity conditions and quality.
Is it possible for someone based in Haiti to start an online activity?
Yes, these activities should be encouraged and undertaken, especially in the current context (where it is advisable to limit travel).
