Evaluation of English Language Capability in Nicaragua for PRONICARAGUA
Overview
In the interest of assessing English language skills in the workforce in Nicaragua with an eye towards supporting the tourism industry and other related services, PRONICAAGUA requested that USAID and CARANA fund a project in this area. The objective of the program was to identify a large number of young Nicaraguans who have intermediate or better English language skills and to register them in a database. Counterparts
PRONICARAGUA Timeframe
September 2004 through February 2005 Activities
The project was carried out with the assistance of a local contractor - The Huella advertising firm that was selected in a competitive process. This firm was hired to undertake all tasks related to the identification, attraction and registration of individuals for this database. To do so, it designed an interactive publicity campaign to attract high school, undergraduate and/or graduate students between the ages of 18 and 30. The advertising campaign was supported by three mobile kiosks that were located near Managua’s most important universities to promote the project and register interested individuals. A total of 3,605 candidates were registered during the seven-week publicity campaign.
Candidates were registered on a purpose-built web site, nicasearch.com, which contained an online registration form for entering data that was automatically transferred to the database. In a second step, candidates showing the greatest level of promise, approximately 2,000, were evaluated over the telephone to verify their English proficiency on a scale of 1-10. Those scoring 7 points or more where then interviewed in person to further rate their English skills by staff from Berlitz, a well-known English language program in Nicaragua. Results
The project was useful in identifying a core number of young persons with different levels of English language skills based on certification tests. Most of these individuals were highly motivated and held a strong desire to find job opportunities that matched their English language skills. Government officials feel that English language skills will become even more important as Nicaragua expands its tourism industry and, as a result, believes that this initial database will be a tool to support this fast growing industry over the next few years. Relevant Documents
Download this page in PDF format here.
A.6.6.7-1 Nicaragua Language Capability Project Profile.pdf
A.6.6.7-3 Nicaragua Language Capability Final Report.pdf
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Project Activities 
