Employment-Intensive Investment in

El Salvador

Activities of the Employment Intensive Investment Programme in El Salvador

Current Involvement

EIIP has currently no activities in El Salvador.

Historical Information

Ensuring a Legal Framework
In oder to determine the mechanisms that allow the overcoming of barriers and constraints that prevented the access of Micro and Small Enterprises (MyPE- Micro y Pequeñas Empresas) to procurement, two small workshops were conducted: one on technical assistance to the National Commission for the Support of MSE (CONAMYPE) and the other on Regualtions of Procurement and Purchasing (UNAC-Unidad Normativa de Adquisiciones y Compras). The first, in December 2009, was intended to to identify legal barriers and weaknesses of MyPE that need to be addressed to promote effective policies for access to public procurement. The second workshop, in April 2010, had the participation of officials from Unit Institutional Procurement and Management (UACI) (including units of Agriculture, Tourism, Public Works and Eduction among others) and technical staff from CONAMPYE, allowed easy analysis of legal regulations, particularly in how the Law on Procurement of Public Administration (LACAP) should be modified.

As a result of this workshop, an aid plan was produced that was aimed at analysing the various legal avenues that could be followed for implementing the policy recommendations:
• Policies to promote the state of MSEs (Micro and Small Enterprises) purchases;
• Measures to overcome legal barriers to government procurement for LACAP with MSE;
• Measures to overcome the limitations of competitiveness between MSEs primarily aimed at CONAMYPE.

Increasing capacity and skills
The Employment Intensive Public Investments (EMP_IINVEST) together with the Ministry of Public Works, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (MOP) and the Road Maintenance Fund of El Salvador Program (FOVIAL) began in 2010 as the first phase of technical assistance for the implementation of a Road Management System based on Micro enterprise Routine Road Maintenance. The aim was to ensure that the system reaches sustainability in the long-term, both technically, collaboratively, and socially.

A series of workshops on the following topics will be held:
  • Conceptual Aspects and Microenterprise Promotions for Routine Road Maintenance;
  • Technical Aspects of Road Micro-management;
  • Capacity Building for business partnerships;
  • Conducting the Meeting of Latin American Authorities in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Honduras, and Paraguay.

At the end of the training and the technical promotion of MOP staff, the staff were prompted to launch a process of promotion and training of microenterprises in the country, which also coincided with the second phase of technical assistance.

The activities in 2010 allowed for:
  • Support for the creation of the Microenterprise Unit within the MOP;
  • Training for the micro aspects of business management;
  • Performing an internship in Peru to observe the most advanced management model yet in the region (including the reinforcement of embankments and temporary employment schemes associated with the development of the Great Recovery Project of Damaged Assets from Storm Ida).

Adpatation to Climate Change and Crises

The damage caused by Tropical Storm Ida (in November of 2009) in the country caused EMP_INVEST to participate in a large project to restore forests damaged by the storm in 2010. In order to carry out post-disaster mitigation Works, particularly the strengthening of embankments and slopes of the country’s main roads, labour-based technologies were used, with the ILO being the agency responsible for providing them.

Increasing local access, planning and community capacity

In 2010, the UNDP showed interest in developing joint pilot projects with the ILO in order to test the mechanisms and strategies that are applicable to the specific needs of the “Strategy for Caring Communitites” project. This project included a Comprehensive Program to Support Work (PATI)—a conditional shift to mandatory training of beneficiaries in order to facilitate their entry into the labour market—a plan of social infrastructure and its execution by FIS-DL and a local development plan that would get support from the Duchy of Luxembourg. The project coincided with the Ministry of Labour’s Five Year Plan for Urban and Rural Community Solidarity, which took charge of the “exit strategy”: placement of approximatly 40,000 to 50,000 people in reciet of temporary employment work, which was also requested and supported by the ILO:

The “Income generation through implementation of an intensive methodology in employment” project
Within the framework of the agreement between UNDP and the ILO, the "Consolidation of the poverty reduction strategy in El Salvador" program was designed and adapted to the Salvadoran context titled the "Income generation through implementation of an intensive methodology in employment ". This project, developed with International Cooperation funds of the County of Luxembourg, aimed at strengthening the capacities of the road maintenance associations developed under the Urban Solidarity Communities Program to make them competitive in public bidding processes.

The "Toolkit for Intensive Employment Investment Methodologies for Local Management" is the final product, which has already been validated, has been made available to government institutions for the development of employment-intensive projects. The toolkit includes: (a) Implementation Manual; (b) Facilitator's guide; and (c) Methodological booklets.

The Implementation Manual describes the EIIP approach at the global level and indicates its action at the level of public policy, development of institutional, legal and procurement mechanisms, as well as the various instruments that can be applied at the project level. This second manual entails a series of phases in the execution of projects in El Salvador.

The Facilitator's Guide accompanies the Implementation Manual for its implementation in the execution of projects in El Salvador, with an emphasis on capacity building to compete in the public procurement market.

The Methodological Guide reflects the curriculum that reaches 213 training hours through six modules: i) Decent Work Approach, ii) Gender Focus, iii) Basic Office, iv) Preparation of bids, v) Administration and accounting / Internal controls, and (vi) Accountability.

Further Reading