During 2017, various companies plan to strengthen their relations with public institutions through public-private initiatives aimed at social and environmental problems.

Since 2013, the Purdy Motor Group has teamed up with the Ministry of Public Education to develop a program called Purdy Cole, which aims to have employees of the company complete their studies. Purdy turns their meeting rooms into educational classrooms where teachers coach employees who have not completed high school so they can get up to date and receive their diplomas.

The company gives them a scholarship of 50 percent of the cost of tuition and materials, and manages the program’s administrative procedures, including enrollment for tests.

Ana María Sequeira, Corporate Relations Manager of the company, said they have succeeded in graduating 37 high school students, and currently have 85 enrolled.

The Ministry of Public Education (MEP) manages at least 40 alliances with companies and foundations to carry out diverse programs, said a report in Costa Rica’s business daily El Financiero.

Last year, for example, BAC Credomatic, in conjunction with the MEP, is expanding its financial education program.

Luis Mastroeni, manager of social responsibility for BAC, said this year the partners would introduce the topic of financial education for first to sixth grade students, and use a website as a support tool.

Also during 2017, the adult financial education program will be expanded to 72 Comprehensive Adult Education Centers (Cindeas), 14 Professional Institutes of Community Education (IPEC), and will be taught in 75 night education centers.

The program addresses subjects such as budget management, savings, and marketing, and will be taught to about 9,000 adult students per year in these three new modalities.

This year BAC will evaluate the technical degree program in banking and finance it supports through the MEP, and which constituted its first alliance with the MEP in 2007-2009. According to data from the ministry, the program has graduated more than 600 students.

Another corporate social responsibility program is the Monge Foundation, financed with a percentage of Monge Group profits (Monge, El Verdugo and El Gallo Mas Gallo stores). Earlier this year, the foundation announced that it successfully entered into a major alliance with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the MEP, to benefit 800 students from schools located within the Greater Metropolitan Area.

The 2 billion colones program (over US$3 million) comes from the Multilateral Investment Fund of the IDB and the Monge Foundation. The resources are directed to training for 500 young people from technical colleges, 250 from academic high schools, and 50 young people from the Soy Cambio program, all of whom specialized in advanced manufacturing but who have not been able to find a job.

“Through this valuable alliance with the IDB, we are contributing to the development strategy of the Government of Costa Rica to meet the demand of the private sector for the formation of the labor force, and in turn, we are giving opportunities to 800 young people with limited resources to prepare themselves to enter the workforce,” said María José Monge, president of the Monge Foundation.

Scotiabank allied itself with the Costa Rican Institute of Sports and Recreation to reforest the La Sabana Park. Then more companies joined.

Scotiabank has supported reforestation of La Sabana Metropolitan Park in conjunction with the Costa Rican Sports and Recreation Institute since 2008. In 2010, the National Energy and Light Company, the Ministry of Justice, the National System of Conservation Areas, and Preserve Planet joined on with the initiative, which is now in its final phase.

Rocío Zamora, the bank’s public relations manager, explained that the main objective is to reforest the park with native tree species and restore its ecological functionality.

“During these past seven years, 3,791 native trees were planted. The goal is 5,000, so this year and next we expect to plant 1,209 trees,” she said.