Low income workers state:”The public system in Chile needs more attachment”

On December 2010, Pilar Opazo [Sociology PhD Student in Columbia University's Center on Organizational Innovation] and I [PhD Student Design-Anthro  NC State] decided to launch a workshop with low income workers at INFOCAP [University for low income workers in Chile]. This institution has proven to be an exceptional model of social mobility. Pilar, author of the in-press book “Nosotros Los Trabajadores” [seeks to describe the successful social-organizational model], which was created using information and studies developed in the Research Center at INFOCAP, wanted to “give a voice” to the workers. Using some of Lassiter’s idea of collaborative ethnography and considering our lack of budget and time frame, Pilar and I conducted a participative workshop and a Focus Group to listen and expose the content of the book to a group of this workers. A great and mindful discussion flourished.In this post, I’d like to share some of the insights given by the workers. We learned so much from them. One of the biggest insights came from the idea that the institution INFOCAP really cares about people.“This never happened to us before. When were young, in a public school, this didn’t happen. When we go to the public hospital nobody knows our name, there is no other place that we are important just because we are”- INFOCAP worker/student Apart from being grateful for the technical skills learned and the personal development courses they must go through, they indicate the difference with other training alternatives [for example in Municipalities] is the level of commitment:

.coi.columbia.edu/students.html" target="_blank" style="font-size: 10pt;">Pilar Opazo [Sociology PhD Student in Columbia University's Center on Organizational Innovation] and I [PhD Student Design-Anthro  NC State] decided to launch a workshop with low income workers at INFOCAP [University for low income workers in Chile]. This institution has proven to be an exceptional model of social mobility. Pilar, author of the in-press book “Nosotros Los Trabajadores” [seeks to describe the successful social-organizational model], which was created using information and studies developed in the Research Center at INFOCAP, wanted to “give a voice” to the workers. Using some of Lassiter’s idea of collaborative ethnography and considering our lack of budget and time frame, Pilar and I conducted a participative workshop and a Focus Group to listen and expose the content of the book to a group of this workers. A great and mindful discussion flourished.In this post, I’d like to share some of the insights given by the workers. We learned so much from them. One of the biggest insights came from the idea that the institution INFOCAP really cares about people.“This never happened to us before. When were young, in a public school, this didn’t happen. When we go to the public hospital nobody knows our name, there is no other place that we are important just because we are”- INFOCAP worker/student Apart from being grateful for the technical skills learned and the personal development courses they must go through, they indicate the difference with other training alternatives [for example in Municipalities] is the level of commitment:
“The courses or formations given in the municipalities are a vicious circle. They seem to be just a way to justify the use of money. Nobody cares about you. There is no attachment” – INFOCAP worker/student