Vocational guidance for children in Mexico

During 2025 Mundo de Talentos has implemented its vocational guidance projects with 440 students in three Mexican states: Chiapas, Oaxaca and Nuevo León. Both in Oaxaca and Chiapas, each Saturday 80 primary school students (10-12 years old) participate in the activities, and both locations carry out (bi)monthly workshops and excursions with the alumni (13+ years): currently 180 in Chiapas and 60 in Oaxaca. The trust and financial support of the DeAcero foundation based in Monterrey, N.L., facilitated the opening of our third project location in the municipality of Guadalupe, N.L., in May of this year. After a few adaptations concerning the exact location of the activities, defined in collaboration with family support agency DIF Guadalupe, we now implement the weekly activities in the DIF installations in the Cañada Blanca neighbourhood, with students from surrounding public primary schools. The first results have been promising, with great interest of students and parents, as well as a very warm welcome of municipal and state government departments for Mundo de Talentos in this northern city.

Besides this extension of the project, Mundo de Talentos´ monitoring and evaluation (M&E) department has been actively reaching out to our first three generations of alumni from Chiapas (who participated between 2018 and 2020) in order to analyse the medium-term impact of our efforts. In total 36 students and/or parents responded to the phone calls (22 female and 14 male respondents). During the calls, three open-ended questions were asked:

• What are you/is your child currently doing?
• How has Mundo de Talentos influenced your life/the life of your child)?
• What memories do you have of Mundo de Talentos?

The responses were grouped around the following three key indicators:

1. Career guidance: Level of clarity and diversity of vocational options identified during their participation in the program.

Several participants expressed that Mundo de Talentos helped them imagine their future and define professional interests. They mentioned specific aspirations they still hold, such as studying law, medicine, biomedicine, gastronomy, teaching, mechatronics, and carpentry, all of which they acquired at MdT. As one student mentioned: “It helped me a lot in giving me ideas about what to pursue, whether it's becoming a teacher or studying law.” A mother commented: “She wants to study biomedicine; now she's studying mechatronics because she really likes it.” Some MdT experiences were significant to the extent to have influenced current decisions. For example, one of the teenagers chose a workshop in high school because he had learned about the topic at MdT: “We went to a carpentry workshop and made a little airplane, and in high school I chose that workshop because I liked it when I learned about it at MdT.”

2. School retention: Interest in continuing in the educational system after participating in MdT.

During the assessment we learned that 94% of the respondents continue their studies and are currently in high school. This high percentage of continued school enrolment reflects the project's positive impact on educational motivation. This motivation is achieved by providing knowledge about trades and professions, and by discovering their own skills and talents. It also brings them closer to role models, who are the guest teachers. Of the respondents, only two adolescents had dropped out of school and are currently working in crafts. One of the students who continue to be enrolled in high school commented about MdT: "For me, it was a beautiful and motivating period." One mother mentioned about her son: “He learned about and became interested in things that they don’t learn in school.

3. Perceived impact of the program: Changes in and strengthening of social skills, interests, aspirations, and significant experiences related to MdT. The responses reflect a highly positive assessment of the project in four main categories:

• Social skills: The responses showed that students and families recognized an improvement in socialization, confidence, participation, and coexistence due to the learning environment that MdT promotes. “It helped him socialize and become interested in many things, as well as interact with other children.”
• Stimulation of diverse interests: Participants had access to new experiences that sparked their curiosity and creativity. One parent recalled: “they learned how to make yarn bracelets, my daughter made one and gave it to me, she made one for her little sister, and she continued making them.”
• Meaningful memories: Memories range from practical workshops (carpentry, gastronomy, recycling) to cultural visits (to indigenous towns of Zinacantán and Chamula, cultural space La Albarrada), market sales, family gatherings, and excursions.
• Strengthening family bonds: Some of the memories mentioned refer to the integration of parents in the project when spending time with their sons and daughters during the workshops, where parents are welcome to participate. Different parents mentioned to remember the meetings of family members and teachers very well.

We can highlight that Mundo de Talentos has significantly contributed to the vocational and social development of its participants. 94% of adolescents continue their studies, and many are clear about their professional interests and aspirations. The project also clearly strengthens soft skills such as communication, self-confidence, and curiosity. The experiential activities and group experiences left positive and lasting memories for both the participants and their families.

This process of impact assessment of the project of Mundo de Talentos is not an isolated process. We will continuously measure the medium- and long-term impact of our activities and use the learned lessons to make project improvements. During 2026, the first alumni generations of Mundo de Talentos Oaxaca will also be included in the impact assessment process. We hope to be able to hightlight many more positive results of our activities in Chiapas, Oaxaca and Monterrey, in the coming years.

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