Education may be the key to success, but in Mexico, a high drop-out and failure rate means that thousands of Mexican high school and university students aren’t getting the head start in life they need. However, if 37-year-old Claudia Garza has her way, soon every student in her region will have access to a personalized vocational assessment, paving the way to the right higher degree.

Claudia has a masters degree in the Science and Technology of Polymers, but it was her professional experience as a high school teacher that led to her formulating this business plan. “I became aware that in the state of Coahuila, the drop-out rate for universities and technical colleges was over 80%, while enrolment levels were extremely low. As a teacher, I realized that helping young people make the right career choices earlier was crucial to combating these trends. Providing such a service could also enable me to fulfill my entrepreneurial goals.”

So six years ago, Claudia established the Centre for Vocational Orientation and Information in her hometown of Monclova, Coahuila. Claudia and her staff advise new high school students on their career path based on an in-depth analysis of their strengths, weaknesses, and overall personality.

“We exchange ideas with pupils from an early stage, identifying their vision of the future, motivating them to achieve better academic results, and advising them on how to pursue their own goals,” says Claudia. “We can reduce the time a student needs to recognize his or her capabilities, making their work more productive.”

Self-evaluation to provide better services

A major difference from the traditional, state-led career counseling offered in schools is a continuous evaluation process that enables Claudia to fine-tune her services. “We offer several opportunities, in both the short- and long-term, for students to send us their feedback. This means we’re constantly learning how to do better.”

So far the results have been spectacular – an analysis of one of Claudia’s first groups of 55 students showed that 52 of them had gone on to enroll in courses that had been suggested in the career orientation sessions and that not a single student had dropped out.

Expanding horizons

Claudia is now poised for expansion across the state. “We’ve already grown our client base from 40 students in the first year to 150 in 2006,” says Claudia. “With the right backing and investments, we expect to expand that number to approximately 600 across the entire state of Coahuila in two to three years time.”

With around 30,000 students matriculating for a university education every year in Coahuila, there’s high potential for future development. “Our experience suggests that at least 25% of these students and their parents will be interested in our services,” Claudia says.

The Centre for Vocational Orientation and Information created by Claudia Garza in her hometown of Monclova still advises high-school students on their career paths with success. Because of the crisis, the Centre has not registered any increase in its revenues, but Claudia is planning to launch a strong publicity campaign in Mexico. To do so, the Centre would need new funding sources. Claudia also intends to sign new agreements with the government and private companies.