Announcement of World Bank Lends Fifty-Eight Million Dollars for Vocational Training in Argentina on October 9, 1980

• '-I FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE , .World Bank ·1 s1 s H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A.• Telephone· (202) 477-1234 BANK NEWS RELEASE NO. 81/17 October 9, 1980 WORLD BANK LENDS $58 MILLION FOR VOCATIONAL TRAINING IN ARGENTINA Argentina's vocational training system will be improved with the sup- port of a $58 mill ion World Bank loan. The loan will help finance a voca- tional training and technical education project, the first project to be supported by the World Bank in Argentina's education sector. The project is expected to contribute to significant improvements in skill formation as required by the industrial transformation process cur- rently underway in Argentina. It wil 1 help increase the supply of skilled labor, improve labor mobility through retraining, and strengthen the plan- ning and operating capabi 1 ities of the National Council for Technical Edu- cation (CONET), the most important agency for the preparation of technicians in Argentina. • The cost of the project is estimated at $149.5 mill ion. The project will finance construction and equipment of 30 vocational training centers and equipment for five others. It will also provide for the purchase of 50 mobile units to be operated in rural areas and small communities. New curricula would be developed for CONET's vocational training activities. The project wil 1 also support reforms in technical education through the intro~uction of new curricula elements. Technical assistance wil I be provided for imrrovements in CONET 1 s operations ond an 8nalysis of future requirements of the Argentine labor market. Avai1able training places will increase from 3,000 to about 7,500 through- out the country as a result of the project. It is expected that the annual graduate output will increase from about 8,000 at present to about 16,000 in 1985, thus doubling CONET's vocational training capacity. The mobile units will supply training places for about 4,500 workers. They will increase skill formation in currently unattended rural areas and small towns, making training arrangements more equitable and creating addi- tional incentives for industry to produce in areas outside of Buenos Aires. The $58 million loan to the Argentine Republic will have a term of 15 years, including three years of grace, with interest of 9.25% per annum. • NOTE: Money figures are expressed in U.S. dollar equivalents . FORM NO. 1121 (5-76) T ECHN I CAL D A T A • PROJECT: Vocational Training and Technical Education COUNTRY: Argentina TOTAL COST: $149. 5 mi 11 ion BANK FINANCING: $58 mi 11 ion for a term of 15 years, including three years of grace, with interest at 9.25% per annum OTHER FINANCING: Government of Argentina, $91.5 mil lion IMPLEMENTING ORGANIZATION: Consejo Nacional de Educaci6n Tecnica (CONET) Bo 1 ,var 191 Buenos Aires, Argentina PROJECT DESCRIPTION: It will provide for: (a) construction and equipment of 30, and equipment of 5, vocational training centers; (b) pur- chase of 50 mobile units to operate in rural areas and small communities; (c) upgrading of about 600 instructors and 100 technicians, and initial training for about 550 new instructors; (d) strengthening CONET's organizational structure and improving its plan- ning capacity; and (e) improving the institutional aspects of CONET's vocational t r a . ing activities. Technical assistance support reforms in technical education and in su rt of CONET's activities in the technical education area are also provided under the project. PROCUREMENT: Procurement of civi 1 works will be done on the basis of local competitive bidding in accordance with procedures acceptable to the Bank, allowing interested foreign contractors to participate. Contracts for pro- curement of equipment and furniture wil 1 be awarded on the basis of international competi- tive bidding in accordance with Bank guidelines. Equipment and furniture that cannot be grouped into packages of at least $200,000 will be procured on the basis of local pro- cedures acceptable to the Bank; procurements under this procedure will not, in aggregate, exceed $5 million. CONSULTANTS: The project will provide for 120 man-months of specialist services for the vocational training component and 39 man- months of specialist services for the technical education component. The specialists wi 11 assist CONET in planning vocational training activities, operating mobile units, in-plant training, occupational analysis, instructor and teacher training, institutional planning for technical education, and improving general administration and doumentation systems. • ECONOMIC RATE OF RETURN: Not app 1 i cab 1e. ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: 1984 - 0 -