Creation of the Employment Cabinet

The Employment Cabinet is hereby created, which shall be composed of:

• 1)

  The Presidency of the Republic;

• 2)

  The Secretariat of General Government Coordination;

• 3)

  The Secretariat of State in the Offices of Labor and Social Security;

• 4)

  The Secretariat of State in the Office of Economic Development;

• 5)

  The Secretariat of State in the Office of Finance;

• 6)

  The Secretariat of State in the Offices of Infrastructure and Public Services;

• 7)

  The Secretariat of State in the Offices of Social Development and Inclusion;

• 8)

  The Secretariat of Energy, Natural Resources, Environment and Mines;

• 9)

  The Secretariat of Agriculture and Livestock;

• 10)

  The Executive Revenue Directorate;

• 11)

  The Institute for Community Development, Water and Sanitation;

• 12)

  The Commission for the Promotion of Public-Private Partnership;

• 13)

  The National Housing Commission;

• 14)

  The Executive Secretariat of the Council of Ministers; and, 15. The National Institute of Professional Training.

The Employment Cabinet shall be presided over by the President of the Republic and shall act as its Executive Secretary, the Secretariat of State in the Offices of Labor and Social Security.

The powers and duties of the Employment Cabinet are the following:

• 1)

  To advise the Government of the Republic on employment matters and on the promotion of investment with high impact on the generation of new jobs;

• 2)

  To propose a Public Policy designed to safeguard existing jobs, promote the generation of decent and competitive employment, and facilitate labor insertion in the country;

• 3)

  To coordinate, harmonize and implement a single and coherent information system that allows for a comprehensive approach to employment performance, periodically evaluating and monitoring its variations for timely decision-making, based on the advantages and difficulties presented by the labor market in each geographic region of the country;

• 4)

  To propose, develop and oversee programs for productive recovery for sectors or companies in crisis situations, provided that they guarantee the sustainability of existing jobs;

• 5)

  To design, execute and evaluate integrated actions to train young people and unemployed persons in order to complete compulsory schooling, initiate or facilitate the continuity of higher education and carry out training experiences;

• 6)

  To design, execute and evaluate plans and programs aimed at improving employment conditions, productivity and competitiveness of companies;

• 7)

  To propose to the General Government Coordination the execution and evaluation of programs to stimulate productive enterprises that favor the creation of jobs;

• 8)

  To propose, develop and monitor strategies to promote employability through professional training of the unemployed, through the qualification, requalification and readjustment of competencies aligned with labor market requirements;

• 9)

  To design and promote a single mechanism for the dissemination of available employment offers from the Government of the Republic, for the filling of vacancies or other labor opportunities, without prejudice to the public entity or institution making the call and carrying out the selection among applicants;

• 10)

  To design and implement a strategy that encourages the participation of employers' and workers' organizations in actions that promote the generation and sustainability of employment; and, 11. Any other power that the President of the Republic may assign to it.

To fulfill the powers and duties of the Employment Cabinet, the Secretariat of Labor and Social Security shall convene periodic meetings and shall submit progress and results reports to the Presidency of the Republic and to the General Government Coordination. When it deems appropriate, the Employment Cabinet may invite representatives of the productive sectors of the country to its meetings.

To monitor compliance with the goals, deliverables and results of the Employment Sectoral Cabinet, the Secretariat of State for General Government Coordination shall provide the necessary technical assistance for sectoral planning and shall make the necessary adjustments in the institutional planning of each public entity participating in the Employment Cabinet, in order to monitor and evaluate its compliance and impact. CHAPTER II OF THE PRESIDENTIAL EMPLOYMENT AND OPPORTUNITIES PROJECT

The Presidential Program for Employment and Opportunities is hereby created, which shall include the various government actions for the generation of new jobs, income generation opportunities and employment skills. The coordination and execution of the Presidential Program for Employment and Opportunities shall be the responsibility of the Secretariat of Labor and Social Security, which shall be responsible for coordinating the employment sector and shall perform the functions of sectoral planning, sector orchestration, monitoring and evaluation through the Employment Sectoral Technical Cabinet. For such purposes, the Secretariat of Labor and Social Security shall take into consideration regional and local factors, the populations that will be targeted by the program, particularly those with the greatest employment problems, in order to develop effective strategies for the development of productive opportunities.

The Presidential Program for Employment and Opportunities has the purpose of planning, coordinating, managing, executing and monitoring programs and projects aimed at the generation of employment and income opportunities, the creation and promotion of enterprises or self-employment, professional training and technical assistance, the provision of credit to small entrepreneurs and producers in urban and rural areas, the execution of small-scale physical and productive infrastructure works; as well as any other programs and projects aimed at the generation of employment and opportunities for the Honduran population. CHAPTER III COMPONENTS OF THE PROGRAM

The Presidential Program for Employment and Opportunities shall be developed through three components: Component I: Employment Generation; Component II: Income Generation; and, Component III: Employment Enablement. Each component with its objectives and scope shall be developed by the Employment Sectoral Cabinet.

The Employment Generation component has the purpose of creating and promoting decent employment and self-employment through the productive sector of the country, and additionally promotes opportunities for training in labor competencies, for the benefit of unemployed persons.

The Income Generation component has the purpose of providing technical or training assistance that allows participants to access financial credit through financial institutions or through programs that promote the creation or strengthening of enterprises and SMEs, in addition to programs that allow for short periods of occupation.

The National Institute of Professional Training shall provide technical assistance in professional training matters to the beneficiaries of the Income Generating Programs, to guarantee sustainability in the enterprises or SMEs that are created. Similarly, the Secretariat of Labor and Social Security, through the Employment Generation Programs, shall be responsible for monitoring and evaluating the impacts on the economy and labor market generated directly and indirectly, as a consequence of the new jobs generated.

The Employment Enablement component shall be oriented toward promoting the necessary conditions to encourage national and foreign investment. This component comprises actions and activities aimed at facilitating an environment of legal security, competitiveness and productivity, as well as the establishment of new development opportunities in specific areas and with high growth expectations determined by the requirements of regional and international supply and demand. CHAPTER IV YOUTH EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM

The "Chamba Joven" Project is hereby created, attached to the Presidential Program with Chamba Vívís Better, whose objective is to provide an economic benefit as an incentive for the development of labor competencies for young people between the ages of 18 to 30 years old, graduates of the complete secondary educational level or who are pursuing their university studies and young people who have graduated with a university degree and are in a situation of unemployment and/or seeking their first job. The incentive shall consist of the payment of L. 4,300.00 to young people who have completed secondary school and L. 6,000.00 for young people with a university degree, for a period of up to 5 months, working 4 hours daily within the company or productive units complemented with professional or technical training modules under the concept of dual training.

The Chamba Joven Project shall create strategic alliances with productive units or public or private service providers that generate opportunities for training and employment preparation through the National Employment Service of Honduras, the body responsible for providing the profiles of the beneficiaries of the labor competencies development incentive.

The beneficiaries of the Chamba Joven Project shall be those who meet the following requirements:

• 1)

  Be between 18 and 30 years of age;

• 2)

  Possess a secondary or university degree;

• 3)

  Be in a situation of unemployment and/or seeking their first job;

• 4)

  Be registered with the National Employment Service of Honduras;

• 5)

  Have been evaluated by the Project Executing Unit, with respect to competencies, skills and aptitudes for work; and, 6. Other requirements that are deemed appropriate to achieve better investment in the labor market of the beneficiaries.

The young persons who are beneficiaries of this Program shall perform specific functions in accordance with the profiles requested by the productive and service units, which shall be responsible for the training and job training of the beneficiaries.

The Chamba Joven Project shall be responsible for the evaluation, monitoring, and follow-up of the beneficiaries referred by the National Employment Service of Honduras.

The execution of the Chamba Joven Project shall be the responsibility of the Presidential Program with Chamba Vívís Mejor, which shall determine its administration, execution, and scope through an annex to the Operational Manual of the Presidential Program.

The Ministry of Finance shall allocate, with prior approval of the President of the Republic, the necessary resources from the Solidarity Fund and Social Protection for the Reduction of Extreme Poverty contained in Decree 278-2013. Additionally, the project may be executed with national resources, reimbursable and non-reimbursable external funds provided by international or national cooperation organizations. The execution of such resources shall be the responsibility of the Presidential Program with Chamba Vívís Mejor.

This Executive Decree shall enter into force after its publication in the Official Gazette "La Gazeta". Given in the city of Tegucigalpa, municipality of the Central District, on the eleventh (11) day of the month of January of the year two thousand sixteen (2016). BE ADVISED AND PUBLISHED. JUAN ORLANDO HERNÁNDEZ ALVARADO CONSTITUTIONAL PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC. JORGE RAMÓN HERNÁNDEZ ALCERRO SECRETARY OF GENERAL COORDINATION OF GOVERNMENT REINALDO ANTONIO SANCHEZ SECRETARY OF THE PRESIDENCY RIGOBERTO CHANG CASTILLO SECRETARY OF STATE IN THE OFFICES OF HUMAN RIGHTS, JUSTICE, GOVERNANCE AND DECENTRALIZATION ARTURO CORRALES SECRETARY OF STATE IN THE OFFICES OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION RICARDO LEONEL CARDONA SECRETARY OF STATE IN THE OFFICES OF DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL INCLUSION ALDEN RIVERA MONTES SECRETARY OF STATE IN THE OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ROBERTO ANTONIO ORDÓÑEZ SECRETARY OF STATE IN THE OFFICES OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND PUBLIC SERVICES JULIÁN PACHECO SECRETARY OF STATE IN THE OFFICE OF SECURITY SAMUEL REYES SECRETARY OF STATE IN THE OFFICE OF DEFENSE EDNA YOLANI BATRES SECRETARY OF STATE IN THE OFFICE OF HEALTH MARLON ONIEL ESCOTO VALERIO SECRETARY OF STATE IN THE OFFICE OF EDUCATION CARLOS MADERO SECRETARY OF STATE IN THE OFFICES OF LABOR AND SOCIAL SECURITY JACOBO PAZ BODDEN SECRETARY OF STATE IN THE OFFICES OF AGRICULTURE AND LIVESTOCK JOSÉ ANTONIO GALDAMES SECRETARY OF STATE IN THE OFFICES OF ENERGY, NATURAL RESOURCES, ENVIRONMENT AND MINES WILFREDO CERRATO SECRETARY OF STATE IN THE OFFICE OF FINANCE