Youths: “Tu Futuro” Program

We have redesigned our face-to-face training program so that more than 10,000 youths in the region can have a great online experience.

In 2020 we faced one of the most challenging and ambitious projects in our history: deepening our path towards digitalization, creating a transformative experience that allows us to impact hundreds of thousands of youths, taking advantage of the new technologies.

To start this project in the most efficient way, we put together dynamic, multi-country teams with transversal skills focusing their talent on:

1. Forge Digital Methodology. The pedagogical teams have worked on the redesign of the contents of the program to turn it into a 100% digital format. Asynchronous classes, exercises and individual challenges were included to work on autonomy, the ability to solve problems, and the development of a greater resilience on the students. At the same time, we have trained all pedagogical teams in the use of digital tools and the development of new skills necessary to create commitment, empathy and impact in a digital context. The teams from each country committed to the change and together we have achieved the success of the new proposal.

2. Platforms, systems and metrics. We have made improvements and new developments to our management system to accompany the online dissemination, registration and training processes. We have obtained new licenses for digital programs and services to complement our operational capacity. In turn, we have adjusted management metrics and indicators throughout the entire process from the communication up to the completion of the course.

3. Communication and call. We have designed an online marketing and communication plan replicating the best market practices. We have created local content for the main social networks, we have established measurement KPIs, and we have made constant improvements throughout the process. The dissemination campaign lasted two months and achieved more than 18,000 unique leads from youths between 17 and 24 years of age from the five countries where the Foundation operates directly.

5. Strategic Alliances. We have worked hard with allied companies and organizations to reinforce their commitment to the Foundation. Affirming their key role in the success of “Tu Futuro” program, they committed their teams to participate in corporate volunteering actions such as conducting mock job interviews and participating in panels to share professional experiences with Forge youths.

Main achievements

We have increased the impact
More than 10,000 youths signed up for “Tu Futuro” program through a totally digital process.

We have expanded the geographic scope
We have added new cities and urban centers to the capitals where we operated before the digital transformation.

We built installed capacity
We have developed new technology platforms that allow us to take another step towards growth and scale.

We have achieved greater social impact

Regional alliances: trust and projection

We have added new strategic allies and deepened existing commitments with the network companies that ensure the sustainability of the project.

To carry out the operation of the Forge Foundation, we need to work hard on building comprehensive and long-term alliances that allow us to strengthen the quality of the actions, to expand the scope and to guarantee the economic and financial capacity.

In this sense, 2020 was a very important year for Forge as we have established cooperation bonds that allow us to project new scenarios for the future of the Foundation.

1. Zurich Foundation and IDB Lab
The Zurich Foundation joined us as a strategic partner to support the financing started by IDB Lab for the project that seeks to reduce the gap between vulnerable youths and the job market of the future.
This initiative, funded by both organizations, will impact more than 84,000 youths from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Uruguay in the next three years. There will also be training for the development of socio-emotional skills for more than 2,000 public school teachers, and awareness-raising actions with Human Resources professionals.

2. Mercado Libre
We have built a new alliance with Mercado Libre to jointly implement our educational project based on the development of socio-emotional skills and technical competencies to accelerate youth insertion on the Labor market.
We work on communities geographically linked to Mercado Libre's distribution centers in La Matanza (Argentina), Lauro de Freitas City (Brazil) and Tepotzotlán (Mexico).
The pedagogical methodology of the “Redes al Futuro” Project was implemented by the academic teams of the Forge Foundation and the Aliança Institute, and as for Mercado Libre, it made tablets and mobile data plans available to participants so that connectivity does not become a barrier when it comes to keep their training process.

3. Accenture
Despite the difficulties, demands and urgencies that citizens, organizations and governments had to face, we were able to deepen key alliances for the Foundation, such as the one we have with Accenture.
“Start” is a training program in technical and soft skills aligned to the current digital economy. It works on topics related to the areas of technology in an environment that emulates an agile, innovative work environment, and as an innovative and complementary element, it incorporates the Forge methodology to address the development of socio-emotional skills.
The Start program has been implemented for two years in Chile and Argentina. We are making progress on the possibility of signing an agreement with Accenture Global to scale the initiative to new scenarios.

More youths with work and access to a better quality of life is everyone's commitment.
We acknowledge all the extraordinary people, organizations and companies that assign economic resources, share knowledge and innovation, and create spaces for cooperation to increase the impact of the work carried out by the Foundation.

Geographic expansion: Brazil

We started our operations in Brazil together with the Aliança Institute, a renowned Brazilian organization.

In 2020, the Forge Foundation began to work in Brazil, operating through the Aliança Institute, an NGO with great experience and a recognized benchmark in the training and job placement of economically vulnerable youths.

From several work meetings between the teams of both organizations, we built a solid and rich bond that allowed to share experiences and best practices, as well as to exchange knowledge on pedagogical methodologies and technology transfer.

EThis project had the support of the Zurich Foundation and the companies of the group, which found in the Forge Foundation an ally with regional impact capacity.

The success that the project is reaching in favor of youths, achieved through cooperation with companies from the private sector, confirms the path that Forge has followed since its origin, and encourages us to continue building alliances with regional projection.

Uniting experiences, methodologies and resources among organizations focused on the young population and their insertion in the labor market is one more step to carry out our growth plan and achieve a greater impact in the communities where we operate.

“La Red” “The Network”: global movement

In September 2020 we launched La Red, a 100% online and 100% free space, exclusively for youths graduated from the Forge program in all the countries we operate.

Since 2005 thousands of youths have lived the Forge experience. We want to provide a space that allows them to remain in contact, continue to grow and enhance the impact of the cause at the regional level.

This year we decided to create “La Red”, an exclusive multi-country platform for graduates of the Forge Foundation. It is a space to reconnect, channel their projects, share experiences and contribute to the personal and professional development of its members.

It was thought based on three main pillars:

1. On-going training
HThere is an offering of over 100 free online courses specially created by Forge is available to continue their learning and development path. At the same time, we designed participatory tools to raise questions and open topics for debate.

2. It was included a space to share memories,0 personal and professional news of each member, make new friends, promote work or artistic endeavors.

3. Active participation
We seek that the graduates of the Forge program inspire the new generations through their own experience. And in this way, create a movement of regional scope that works in an autonomous, proactive and committed way.

By the end of 2020, more than 4,000 youths had already joined the proposal, and the number of youths in “La Red” continues to increase every day.