CARCIP Nicaragua English Scholarships and the Versant Test
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If you studied English on a TELCOR scholarship, or you are applying for call center jobs in Managua, two names keep coming up: CARCIP and Versant. CARCIP-Nicaragua was a World Bank financed project, run by TELCOR from 2016 to 2022, that paid for free English, soft skills and technical certification courses aimed at call center and IT jobs. Versant, Pearson's automated English test, was used to place applicants at the start and was the international certification included in the English scholarships. The program has closed, but the Versant test is still how many contact centers check your English.
Key facts. World Bank project P155235, a US$20.1 million IDA credit, approved on 2 August 2016 and closed on 31 July 2022. TELCOR implemented it.
English results. TELCOR reports 4,338 English scholarships, of which 3,203 graduates were certified. TELCOR's procurement plan lists 2,400 Versant certification vouchers bought in 2021, plus Versant entry testing for 600 people in both 2019 and 2020.
What Was CARCIP-Nicaragua?
CARCIP stands for the Caribbean Regional Communications Infrastructure Program. Its first phase, launched in 2012, covered St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia and Grenada. Nicaragua joined as a second phase at the government's request, and the World Bank's own reports call that project CARCIP-Nicaragua.
The project had two goals: bring broadband to more of the country, especially the Caribbean coast, and help build an IT and IT-enabled services (IT/ITES) industry. That second goal is where call centers come in. The single biggest budget line, about US$9.4 million, went to an IT/ITES skills and certification program, which is the part most people remember as "las becas de TELCOR".
Item | Detail |
|---|---|
World Bank project | P155235, IDA credit 5895-NI |
Financing | US$20.1 million, fully disbursed |
Implementing agency | TELCOR |
Approved | 2 August 2016 |
Closed | 31 July 2022 |
Largest component | IT/ITES skills and certification, about US$9.4M |
Other components | Fiber, 4G sites, ICT policy, innovation |
People trained (World Bank) | 7,887, against a target of 5,500 |
Final rating | Satisfactory (ICR), Moderately Satisfactory (IEG) |
On the infrastructure side the project laid about 115 km of fiber between El Rama, Kukra Hill and Laguna de Perlas and added 25 4G-enabled base stations. On the skills side, the World Bank counted 7,887 people trained, with 84.65% earning an internationally recognized certification. English made up 37% of all certifications, and women were almost half of English course participants.
The English Scholarships: Inglés para Call Center
TELCOR's official name for the training was the Programa de certificación y desarrollo de habilidades IT/ITES. It offered three kinds of scholarships, all free to the student: English courses, soft skills, and technical certifications. By TELCOR's final count, the English track awarded 4,338 scholarships, certified 3,203 graduates and cost US$3.18 million. Course names varied by provider and year: Inglés para Call Center, English for Call Centers, Curso Especializado de Inglés, and in 2022 an online Club de Conversación de Inglés para Call Centers with 400 places.
TELCOR did not teach the classes itself. It ran results-based tenders and paid universities and language institutes to deliver the courses. These are the providers we could document from their own announcements or from news coverage:
Provider | What is documented |
|---|---|
Keiser University Language Institute | 1,200 scholarships announced in 2020; 650 in the first phase |
Universidad Thomas More | 90 graduates at a May 2019 ceremony |
Universidad Americana (UAM) | 250 graduates in January 2021 |
URACCAN (Caribbean coast) | Cohorts in Bilwi, Bluefields, Las Minas, Nueva Guinea |
Who could apply
The calls were aimed at young Nicaraguans with limited resources. Typical requirements were: over 18, a high school diploma or technical or university studies, an interest in IT/ITES work, and intermediate or advanced English already. Some URACCAN campuses also asked for basic computer skills, an interview conducted entirely in English and a typing test of at least 20 words per minute. Places were limited; one Bluefields call had more than 70 applicants for 60 seats.
What the scholarship covered
Keiser's 2020 announcement, and a 2021 report on the UAM cohort, list the same package: tuition, certified English teachers, books and materials, snacks and lunch, transport to central points, access to labs and online platforms, and la certificación internacional VERSANT. From 2020 the courses moved online because of COVID-19, and money budgeted for classrooms paid for mobile data for students instead.
Where the Versant Test Fit In
Versant shows up at both ends of the program. At the start, TELCOR contracted an English placement course with a Versant entry test for 600 people in 2019, and again in 2020. At the end, TELCOR's procurement plan records a direct purchase of 2,400 Versant certification vouchers in 2021, for US$43,942.70.
A URACCAN course coordinator in Bilwi described it the same way: the first evaluation the project required was "un test que se llama Versant", used to find each student's weak areas before the final exam. To be certified, students had to reach B2 on the Common European Framework. Keiser's language institute also published a Spanish explainer, "¿Qué es el Versant Test?", for its students.
Two things the public documents do not say. They never name the exact Versant product: every source just says Versant, Test Versant or Certificación Versant. And none of them states a Versant cut score. The only documented target is the B2 level. On the legacy Versant 20 to 80 scale, B2 corresponds to 58 to 68; on the Global Scale of English (GSE) it is 59 to 75.
Did It Lead to Jobs?
Partly. A World Bank survey of 2,400 certified trainees found that 53.58% had entered the labor market, with a reported salary increase of 19%. Hires were spread across 60 private companies, 22 of them IT/ITES firms. The same report notes that in June 2021 about US$940,000 was moved out of the skills component, and the activities meant to connect trainees with employers were dropped.
The wider sector did grow. Data from ProNicaragua cited by the World Bank shows IT-related jobs rising from 6,438 in 2016 to 13,371 in 2021. In 2025 the independent outlet Confidencial put the outsourced services sector at about 31 companies and at least 14,799 jobs, with base call center pay of US$550 to 650 a month. Employers with Managua operations include Concentrix, Foundever (formerly Sitel) and IBEX, which hired URACCAN English graduates in 2020.
Is the CARCIP Scholarship Still Open in 2026?
No. The World Bank lists the project as closed, with a final date of 31 July 2022. TELCOR's last scholarship announcement under the program was in June 2022, and it has published nothing about new English cohorts since. If you are looking for an English course for call center work today, the same universities and language institutes that delivered CARCIP courses still run paid and in-company programs, and some employers train new hires internally.
The Versant Test Today
Versant is now a family of tests sold under the name Versant by Pearson, and the version you take depends on who sends it. Pearson markets the Speaking and Listening test and the 4-Skills Essentials test to call centers and BPO companies. All of them report a score on the GSE, from 10 to 90, linked to CEFR levels. Pearson publishes no pass mark: each employer sets its own.
Versant test | Length | Skills |
|---|---|---|
English Speaking and Listening Test | about 17 to 20 min | Speaking, listening |
English 4-Skills Essentials Test | about 30 min | All four skills |
English Writing Test | about 35 min | Writing, reading |
Professional English Test | about 60 min | All four skills |
English Placement Test | about 50 min | All four skills |
According to Pearson's store, the Speaking and Listening Test replaces the older Versant English Test, the 17 minute spoken test that most CARCIP students would have known. If an older certificate shows a score from 20 to 80, it is on the legacy Versant scale, not the GSE.
How to Prepare for Versant for a Call Center Job
- Check which test you were sent. The invitation names it. A Speaking and Listening invite and a Writing Test invite are completely different papers.
- Practice under the real timing. Versant gives you a few seconds per answer and moves on automatically. Hesitation costs more than a small grammar slip.
- Train the repeat and sentence-building tasks. They reward clear, complete sentences at a natural pace, which is also exactly what a customer call needs.
- Do dictation and typing drills. Several Versant tests include typed dictation, and some recruiters also check typing speed.
- Aim above B2 if you can. CARCIP used B2 as its certification level, so treat it as a floor rather than a goal.
Mocko has full-length Versant practice tests with instant GSE scoring and an item-by-item review. It covers the Versant English Placement Test as well as the 4-Skills Essential and Writing Test formats, which share task types such as Repeat, Conversations, Dictation and Passage Reconstruction with the call center tests. You can start with a free Writing practice test at app.mocko.ai, and download a free monthly Versant sample test to work through on paper.
Resumen en español
CARCIP-Nicaragua fue un proyecto del Banco Mundial (P155235, US$20.1 millones) ejecutado por TELCOR entre 2016 y 2022. Su programa de becas gratuitas de inglés para call center, impartido por Keiser University, la UAM, la Universidad Thomas More y URACCAN, otorgó 4,338 becas de inglés y certificó a 3,203 graduados con meta de nivel B2. TELCOR compró 2,400 vouchers de certificación Versant en 2021 y usó el test Versant como prueba de entrada. El programa cerró el 31 de julio de 2022. Hoy muchos call centers siguen evaluando el inglés con Versant, y en Mocko puedes practicar el examen con puntaje inmediato en la escala GSE.
FAQ
CARCIP-Nicaragua was a World Bank financed project (P155235) implemented by TELCOR from 2016 to 2022. It expanded broadband on the Caribbean coast and funded free English, soft skills and technical certification scholarships for call center and IT jobs.
Sources
- World Bank, CARCIP Implementation Completion and Results Report (2023)
- World Bank project page, P155235
- TELCOR, CARCIP Componente 2 results
- CARCIP procurement plan with the Versant voucher purchase (2022)
- Confidencial, Nicaragua's call center sector (2025)
- Pearson, Versant tests for employers
Related reading: Versant test practice hub, VEPT practice test, Versant 4-Skills Essential and Writing Test and the Versant October sample test.
