Workforce Building:  the Costa Rican Talent Development Program

Costa Rica is having a golden era of economic growth. The Central American country was one of Latin America’s best-performing economies in 2025 and shows few signs of slowing down in 2026. While exports, foreign investment, and other staples of Costa Rica’s growth have made headlines, less visible sectors are quietly gaining ground: workforce development is one of them.

Long seen primarily as a producer of coffee and a hotspot for ecotourism, Costa Rica now attracts companies across advanced manufacturing, medical devices, technology services, and other high-value-added exports thanks to a deep pool of bilingual, educated talent and a thriving support ecosystem.

But behind every circuit board, medical device component, and 3D-printed product exported from Costa Rica’s fertile Central Valley are skilled workers and technicians. Creating a sustainable and highly-skilled workforce doesn’t just happen — especially not overnight.

Recognizing this reality, the government recently announced over $1 million dollars’ worth of technical skills training for over 1,200 workers and prospective workers as part of the Costa Rican Talent Development Program.

The Costa Rican Talent Development Program

The Incentive for the Development of Human Talent in Companies is exactly what it sounds like. The program aims to empower export-aligned companies to get the talent they need by subsidizing technical skills development for existing and prospective employees.

More specifically, the program works toward:

• Closing the talent gap between worker skills and exporter needs
• Filling labor shortages in high-demand areas
• Helping businesses grow faster by ensuring they have the human resources they need
• Improving Costa Rican workers’ long-term employability

26 business projects were approved in the program’s latest training round, with projects hailing from both free trade zone and definitive regime companies across the country’s export sectors.

Participants in the program are chosen based on their contribution to Costa Rica’s exports and their demonstrated need for skilled labor. Simply put, companies that want workers who can jump in and perform on day one need training programs that can meet them halfway. And Costa Rican workers need those programs, too.

Who Benefits?

Skill development programs are open to both existing employees and job applicants. While companies build their recruitment pipelines, investing in training programs also allows them to upskill current employees.

Focus areas include advanced manufacturing and technical skills, digital know-how, export-related training, supply chain logistics, and more.

Companies that participated in the round will see between 50% to 90% of training costs covered by the program. That level of investment allows smaller companies to seriously consider skill development opportunities they might otherwise overlook.

Combined, the efforts should help more Costa Rican businesses expand their operations and attract foreign direct investment by removing barriers to skilled talent. There are few things more frustrating for a multinational looking to execute on expansion plans than not having access to a prepared workforce.

People Are Jobs, Too

“There’s a permanent shortage of human talent.” Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promoter (PROCOMER) Laura López is spot on when she zeroes in on talent as Costa Rica’s most valuable competitive advantage.

Workers aren’t just another line on a budget spreadsheet. They’re one of the most critical components of your operations. But too few companies look at human capital as a source of potential savings. High turnover, inefficient recruitment practices, and other headaches can often be remedied with a better talent strategy.

That’s why efforts like the Costa Rican Talent Development Program can have such a powerful impact on the country’s ability to attract and retain investment. Foreign investors want to see that Costa Rica has the workers it needs to execute not just today, but five and ten years from now.

Investing in workers today means businesses can hire confidently tomorrow. And when there are fewer obstacles to hiring or expanding in Costa Rica, more companies will do just that.

Better Together

Behind every successful government program is a coalition of partners; the Costa Rican Talent Development Program is no exception. Jointly administered by PROCOMER, the Ministry of Foreign Trade, the National Learning Institute (INA), and the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

Private sector support for the program comes from the Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of the Private Business Sector (CUSADE) and the Costa Rican Free Trade Zone Association.

Public-private collaboration is always helpful, but never more so than when it comes to workforce training. Private sector input helps ensure curriculum matches real-world skills gaps. And companies get workers who are ready to contribute from day one.

Results Tell the Story

Taken together, these organizations have helped ensure:

• Over 7,300 total workers have benefited from the program
• Over 5,200 workers have been trained in 2025 alone
• Over 2,000 courses have been completed

It’s tough to argue with results like that. Still, let’s back up for a second: programs like these don’t just increase the number of “trained workers” in a country. They go deeper than that.

For example, Costa Rica has trained more logistics technicians, which improves logistics operations for exports. Better talent pools mean more companies will feel confident expanding in Costa Rica, knowing they can access workers when they need them most.

Investment Breeds Investment

We’ve talked about the Talent Development Program’s direct benefits, but training-focused initiatives have some incredible ripple effects as well:

• Companies that grow create new jobs. More jobs mean more business for local supporting industries.
• Companies that reach new heights of productivity contribute more to the economy, which fuels Costa Rica’s development across sectors.
• Workers who can improve, learn new skills, and keep pace with evolving technology remain assets to their companies for longer. That decreases turnover and increases the return on investment in training programs over time.

As technological advancement accelerates and industries continue evolving, upskilling today could very well determine which companies succeed and which companies get left behind. Invest in people, and they’ll grow your business.

Conclusion

Export promotion, foreign direct investment attraction, and workforce development aren’t just complementary to one another — they’re deeply intertwined. And Costa Rica continues to double down on all three.

Through carefully crafted programs like the Talent Development Skills Training incentive, Costa Rica is committing resources not just to today’s workforce, but to the workforce of the future. By providing resources for both large corporations and small businesses, Costa Rica is empowering its industries to grow from the inside out.