
U.S. Embassy Belmopan
MCC CEO Alice Alright (front row, third from right), U.S. Ambassador Michelle Kwan (front row, third from left) alongside MCC staff, Government of Belize officials, and students and faculty at Maud Williams High School in Belize City.
The Central American country of Belize faces several challenges in its journey to sustainable and inclusive economic growth. One of the most pressing challenges is a lack of skilled workers across many industries. The country’s education system does not produce enough graduates with in-demand skills, resulting in many Belizeans having trouble finding well-paying work and businesses struggling to expand and thrive.
In response, MCC and the Government of Belize have partnered to design a $74 million project focused on enhancing secondary education and Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET)—MCC’s largest per capita investment in education in the agency’s 20-year history. The project is part of the Belize Compact—a $125 million grant agreement signed by MCC and the Government of Belize on September 4, 2024. The program—centered around education and energy—will seek to boost the number of Belizean students who graduate from high school or technical and vocational school with the skills they need to participate and succeed in the country’s job market, and lower the cost of electricity by facilitating new power purchase agreements for lower-cost renewable energy and modernizing the grid to efficiently manage an influx of variable power generation.
The compact’s Education Project used a participatory approach to include teachers, parents, and government officials to design a project that tackles the root causes of low skills in the workforce. This project also takes into consideration the local culture and context to tackle difficult challenges like students living with trauma while addressing the poor quality of education delivered by teachers and received by students. A broad-based, practical solution for students, teachers and the entire education system is at the core of the reforms that will be delivered.
MCC’s evidence-based process starts with a deep understanding of the barriers to economic development in partner countries. In collaboration with the Government of Belize, MCC conducted a constraints-to-growth analysis to identify key obstacles to private investment and entrepreneurship, both vital for Belize’s economic progress. The analysis, which shaped the focus of the Belize Compact, revealed that the education and energy sectors are in dire need of investment to fully unlock the country’s potential for greater economic growth.

U.S. Embassy Belmopan
MCC CEO Alice Albright (left) tours Edward P. Yorke High School in Belize City with Principal Karen Canto.

MCC
Belize Education CEO Dian Maheia
According to Belize Education CEO Dian Maheia, the approach has worked well for Belize. “One of the things that's really been important about working with this is that it really has been a team effort. The MCC team came to us and asked us really hard questions about what we think we need, what do we want. And we've worked together to build out a compact and a range of program activities that are truly Belize centered. And I think that's key in our optimism for the success of the development of this compact over the next five years,” said Maheia.
The project will provide training for principals and other school administrators to become better prepared and more effective at their work. It will identify needed resources to deliver relevant and engaging curriculum and classroom environments. Targeted pre-service and in-service teacher training will also be provided to ensure teachers can deliver competency-based curriculum for a classroom of students at multiple levels of learning, how to best leverage digital learning and building the overall competencies needed for a 21st century classroom Additionally, the project will establish a national assessment system to track progress and support a shift to a student-centered approach ensuring students graduate with the skills they need to succeed in the marketplace.
Of course, not all students are at the same place in their learning journey. This project will provide extra support—including literacy and numeracy programs and dedicated school counselors—for students who need it most. Other programs will focus on getting families more involved in their child's education.

MCC
During a visit to Edward P. Yorke High School, MCC officials heard directly from students like Brielle (above) about the challenges and aspirations of Belizean students like them.
In a rapidly changing world, it is important to create an education system that is dynamic and can respond to the changing needs of the labor market and the economy so graduates can find work. The Education Project will create a National Training Agency and consult with the private sector to inform the types of training provided in the TVET curriculum and provide work-based learning opportunities. Additionally, the project will support the establishment of a management information system that will track students from training to employment.
One of the hallmarks of the Belize Education Project is its commitment to inclusivity. The project focuses on intentionally creating opportunities across all three activities for members of groups that have been traditionally excluded from the Belizean educational system, particularly students living with trauma, those with special education needs, immigrant students, and indigenous students. Some examples of how the project is focused on inclusion are developing systems to identify students experiencing learning difficulties to be assisted directly by educators and school leaders, mobilizing interventions for students that are struggling in school, and programming focused on closing gender gaps facing female students as they near graduation in hopes of successfully securing jobs.
The Belize Education Project will require legislative reforms to the TVET Act and Education Act to pave the way for a stronger education system. MCC and the Government of Belize are working in close collaboration to ensure these reforms are timely and aligned with project objectives. Despite the challenges, this comprehensive system-wide approach will work to deliver sustainable programs that will significantly impact Belize’s economic growth.
Through MCC’s partnership with Belize, the commitment to creating an environment where education empowers all students and teachers, driving economic development and fostering a brighter future for the nation.