Joachim Gauck, president of Germany, visited Montevideo and was at the education center Anima, where he gathered with teachers and students. Since March 2016, there is an innovative proposal of a Technological Secondary School in Uruguay, which emerged in Germany around a 100 years ago.

During the meeting, Gauck said that “the key of the success of the dual vocational training model lies on two facts: young people must make an effort and believe in themselves; and society as a whole (including unions, the State and enterprises) must get involved.”

The dual vocational system proposes theoretical-practical learning that provides young people with labour opportunities while they study.

According to Gauck, in Germany “society believes that technical professional training enables young people to get a good job and decent life”.

On October 2015, the NGO, Anima, signed a convention with conventual Franciscans and received a part of a giant building in bailment, which is located right next to the university residence of this religious community.

On the beginning of 2014, the first steps to create an NGO, promoted by professionals from the business world who acknowledged the need of having adequate skills and teachers with experience in different educational proposals.

At Anima, students have three years of high school, from 4^th to 6^th, with two orientations: one in administration and another in Information and Communication Technology (TIC).

In their 5^th grade, students start alternating three days of studying at Anima with two days  of working at companies that have connections with the NGO, with working days of 6 hours and in roles that are adequate with what they are learning.

In their 6^th grade they have three at the company and two at school. The first year of school is pre-dual, and it enables a gradual transition to bring two worlds together: the education and the labour world. During that year they fosters the minimum skills students need to access the labour market in the future. Employees or businessmen go to Anima to tell students about their careers, their business and their technology, while students complete two days of on-site observations of how these companies work.

Students shall receive payment from the companies for the days they work, in compliance with the new Law on Youth Employment. Anima has an agreement with the National Direction of Employment of the Ministry of Labour, and it is rather likely they will get an “apprenticeship value” so that every students gets the same wage despite the company.

Ximena Sommer, Executive Director at Anima, explained to the Uruguayan newspaper, El País, that, after completing a research for Social Politics postgraduate studies, she noticed the gap there is between education and labour. “During this research we got to know the dual model and developed a study on the demand among companies of the technological sector. In the beginning, we asked businessmen what skills a young person needed in order to be a good worker. After that survey, we decided to create a training program, an educational proposal with social impact so that, three years from now, graduates can actually get quality jobs, and provide what the country needs in order to develop”, she added.

Anima students have free access, they come from vulnerable socioeconomic groups, live in the suburbs of Montevideo and Canelones, and to enter in the 4^th year of high school they need to be among 15 to 18 years old.

The goal is for them to compete seeking job vacancies that, in another situation, they would never be able to get.

“We are not going to generate greater levels of youth employment, but we are going to deliver opportunities for young people who lack the basic network and training in occupational areas that shall enable greater growth while they work. Every rule here has a reason and that leads to a new culture; it is hard, but we are already accomplishing that young people want to keep on coming here and visualize work as something they want, and that will provide them the chance to outstand themselves”, said Sommer.

Anima has quality infrastructure and equipment, which is part of the message: to provide the best tools so that young people understand they deserve them and must take care of them.

The selection of youngsters was thorough. The proposal was distributed via social media. 150 families signed up and there was a raffle that benefited the current 75 students. Many of them travel by bus for an hour and a half to get trained.

In the TIC orientation, out of 50 students only 12 are women, but in Administration women are the majority. Another goal is to achieve greater balance in 2017.

The program is very demanding, as the school day goes from 08:00 to 16:00 and has the option of extending to 18:00.

During breaks, students can enjoy a very comfortable multiuse space that also functions as dining room and as a space to play board games, or enjoy films and music.