Youth in Action: two payments of USD 400 per training cycle

The Ministry of Labor and Human Development set the payment for individuals selected in the fourth period of the mechanism for the strengthening of capacities and potentials for youth “Jóvenes en Acción” at two transfers of USD 400 each. The guidelines require up to 20 weekly hours of training activities and mandate the restitution of any non-earned amounts. The decision is contained in Ministerial Agreement MTDH-2026-026, signed on October 16, 2026, by Minister Diana Paulina Ramírez Villacís and published on the same day in the Fifth Supplement No. 391 of the Official Registry.

The guidelines develop Executive Decree No. 520, dated October 15, 2026, which established the fourth period of the mechanism as a temporary monetary transfer aimed at Ecuadorians between 18 years and 29 years 11 months of age. The first transitory provision of that decree granted the ministry a fifteen-day period to issue the secondary regulations; the agreement was signed the day after the publication of the decree, based on Technical Report MTDH-JEA-2026-P4-001.

The mechanism provides for 700,000 slots, distributed by province and by executing entity. Registration is carried out on the institutional platform enabled since October 1, 2026, and the closing date remains at the discretion of the ministry’s highest authority.

Two cycles, twenty weekly hours, and closing in December

Participation is organized into two cycles, each with an activity plan of up to twenty weekly hours and four daily hours. Justified rescheduling may extend the closing date, but does not increase the two USD 400 transfers nor the hourly dedication.

No activity may begin before the authorization of the first monetary transfer, and all conclude on December 31, 2026. Those who satisfactorily complete the two cycles will receive a certificate of participation.

The agreement clarifies that participation does not create an employment relationship, appointment, employment contract, or right to remuneration: the transfer is compensation for the full completion of the activities.

Requirements, priority, and executing entities

The eligibility phase, managed by the Social Registry Unit (URS), validates the following criteria:

• Ecuadorian nationality.
• Being between 18 years and 29 years 11 months of age as of the date the registered database is delivered.
• No registered affiliation with the compulsory general insurance under a dependency relationship (type 1) in the IESS.
• No registered affiliation in the ISSFA or the ISSPOL.
• Not being eligible to receive other bonuses and pensions administered by the ministry, except for contingency coverages.

The priority order prioritizes first-time participants and, within that group, individuals in the Social Registry with an ascending index: extreme poverty, poverty, and non-poverty; those not listed in the registry are ordered by age, from youngest to oldest.

Among the intervening institutions are the Ministry of Labor and Human Development (MTDH), the URS, the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MAE), the Ministry of Economic and Productive Development (MDEP), the Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture (MINEDEC), the Ministry of Government (MDG), the Ministry of Infrastructure and Technology (MIT), the Ministry of Public Health (MSP), the National Secretariat for Risk Management (SNGR), and the National Directorate of Public Registries (DINARP).

Return of unearned values

Each transfer is earned only upon full completion of the activities and milestones of the corresponding cycle; receiving the money does not in itself certify the accrual. In case of non-compliance, the executing entity notifies the liquidation report within three days and grants ten days for voluntary restitution.

Anyone who requests it in writing may access payment facilities through an agreement, with a term not exceeding three months. The values are deposited into current account No. 8020078 of Banco del Pacífico, in the name of MTDH – Dirección de Transferencias, with RUC 1768064000001.

The grounds for exclusion are those in Article 10 of the decree; in cases where warranted, a term of three days is granted to present a defense. Exclusion based on the grounds of numeral 3 determines the full return of the credited amount. Executing entities must submit the closing report by February 28, 2027.

Agreements with private companies

Private companies participate through cooperation agreements signed with the executing entities, limited to training activities oriented toward employability. They must provide a badge to the selected individuals and immediately notify any non-compliance.

The instructions prohibit companies from terminating workers due to the entry of participants, covering ordinary production needs under simulated training, charging the selected individuals, or subjecting them to discriminatory treatment, harassment, or violence. Nor can they become executing entities or assume public competencies for exclusion, liquidation, or payment.

The impact of the regulation is direct for three audiences: young applicants, who now know the amount, the hourly commitment, and the repayment conditions; the executing entities, which assume verification and collection; and the companies, which are subject to explicit cooperation rules. With a universe of 700,000 slots and advance payments of public resources, the instructional guide shifts expenditure control to the verifiable completion of activities and establishes a recovery mechanism that survives the closure of the program.

Source: Official Registry, Fifth Supplement No. 391, Friday, October 16, 2026, Executive Branch, p. 2 (official reference: Ministerial Agreement MTDH-2026-026).