With GuateCooks, “we have the opportunity to learn, to have good experiences, to make money and then to come back [to Guatemala], to see our families again, be with them. And after a certain time to go back again. We have to take advantage of these opportunities,” stated one recent participant in LaMP’s newest project in Guatemala.
What is GuateCooks?
GuateCooks is a 10-month pilot program designed to enable international labor mobility opportunities for Guatemalan cooks. This initiative focuses on temporary labor migration pathways to meet the labor needs of international employers while also allowing participants the flexibility of working abroad while periodically returning to Guatemala to see their families.
The program is designed with three primary pillars in mind. First, participants who are already trained as cooks take a short training course with local training institute partners. The training course is divided into four modules: 1) U.S.-based safety and hygiene protocols, 2) culinary English classes, 3) practical exercises in high-volume kitchens, and 4) professional development and interview preparation. Rather than a beginner-level training course, the GuateCooks modules work to reinforce participants’ already acquired culinary and English skills to accelerate their job readiness specifically for international kitchens.
A second program priority is the generation of employer demand to facilitate job interviews for training course graduates with international recruiters and employers. Finally, the pilot program focuses on sustainability through the exploration of financial solutions to ensure the training course’s long-term financial viability. During these 10 months, we aim to train and place at least 60 Guatemalan cooks in the culinary and hospitality sectors, primarily in the United States. However, in taking a three-part program approach, we are also ensuring the longevity and scalability of this pathway beyond the pilot program’s duration.
Program Progress and First Successes
Launching just four months ago, LaMP has already made significant strides in implementing the GuateCooks program objectives. In September, LaMP attended Guatemala’s National Food Fair (Feria Alimentaria), the largest culinary event in Central America. There, we strengthened relationships with local educational partners, collaborated with international recruiters to sponsor prizes for the Junior Chefs culinary competition, and promoted the program to Guatemala’s network of culinary students and professionals.
The following month, our first group of participants began their training course hosted by INTECAP, Santa Lucia, one of LaMP’s training partners. Institute administrators were excited to collaborate on the GuateCooks project, explaining that: “the course is very positive, it really fills a need in the region. It generates job opportunities for our chefs.”
On November 15, the first 13 Guatemalan cooks graduated from this training course. Participants described the training as very valuable. One participant explained that in GuateCooks “we gained experience. Here, they taught me a lot about improvising. We learned techniques to solve problems quickly because you have to find a way to make things come out well [in the kitchen].”
Overall, the participants were particularly interested in the course to shore up their culinary skills, to practice English, and to be better prepared for job opportunities in the United States. One participant remarked: “Maybe there were things we already knew, but it was a great reinforcement.” In the month following their graduation, participants have had preliminary interviews with international recruiters and anticipate receiving job offers early this year.
Path Forward and Next Steps
These early successes are just the first steps in LaMP’s larger target to develop a sustainable and scalable training-to-jobs pipeline for the international culinary and hospitality industries. In the coming months, we will continue offering the GuateCooks training course with additional culinary training partners throughout Guatemala. The next GuateCooks training program will begin in late January 2025 in collaboration with the Las Margaritas Culinary Institute in Guatemala City.
During the remainder of the pilot program, we will continue to advance the three core program pillars. First, we will scale up the GuateCooks training ecosystem by collaborating directly with new training partners as well as sharing course materials and bolstering the training capacity of our current training partners. We will also continue to increase labor demand through the fostering of new relationships with U.S.-based recruiters and employers. Finally, in the coming six months we will establish a financial assistance mechanism to ensure that the GuateCooks program continues to grow even after the pilot program ends.
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