Eligiendo Mi Camino — Peru's AI Career Coach 'Gallito' Lifts Students' Technical-Career Salary Expectations 21% in Early RCT Results

Peruvian secondary students often make post-school decisions with little reliable information about labour-market returns, and many underestimate the pay and prospects of technical and vocational careers relative to university degrees. "Eligiendo Mi Camino" ("Choosing My Path") was launched on 16 March 2026 by Lima's Regional Directorate of Education (DRELM) together with the World Bank, the Peruvian edtech platform uDocz, Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC) and Anthropic.

The programme pairs two AI tools delivered during school hours in existing school computer labs: a diagnostic-first AI Math Tutor covering roughly 4,000 questions across 4 competencies, 16 topics and 80 sub-topics of Peru's fifth-year curriculum, and an AI Career Coach named "Gallito" that guides students through 8 structured steps across 12 sessions, drawing on Ministry of Labour salary and demand data for 142 occupations across 12 economic sectors. Roughly 400 teachers were trained to support delivery. Reported reach ranged from 85 schools and about 4,500 students (April 2026) to 110 schools and about 6,600 students as the rollout continued through the year, across sources.

The World Bank's Development Research Group, led by Ezequiel Molina and Carolina Lopez, ran a pre-registered randomized controlled trial across participating schools comparing treatment and control groups. Preliminary results covering April–July 2026 reported approximately 90% student take-up of the coach, a 0.12 standard-deviation improvement on a career-readiness index, an upward revision in students' expected monthly salary for technical degrees of about 21% (from S/1,300 to S/1,922), and a 14% increase in stated intention to enrol in technical institutes. The World Bank cites an incremental cost of roughly $1 per student for four months of career-coaching, beyond fixed setup costs.

These are preliminary, self-reported perception and intention measures rather than confirmed enrolment or employment outcomes, and the RCT so far covers a single school year in one metropolitan region; the full impact evaluation is expected only in 2027. Ecuador has reportedly begun adapting the platform for its own schools.

Read the full analysis: https://institutoeducaccion.org/eligiendo-mi-camino-ia-para-el-aprendizaje-y-las-decisiones-vocacionales-en-peru/