Brazil's National Confederation of Industries (CNI) announced that it is going to invest 10.45 billion Brazilian reais (US$ 5.2 billion) in the "Education for the New Industry" program by the end of 2010. The funds are enough to ensure basic and professional education to 16.2 million Brazilians, besides expanding and modernizing the network of schools and training laboratories of the Social Service for Industry (Sesi) and of the National Service of Industrial Education (Senai).
The announcement was made August 28 by the president at CNI, Armando Monteiro Neto, during a ceremony held at the institution's head office, attended by businessmen and government officials. Neto said that the initiative is an answer from the industry to the natural challenges posed by the market, aiming to increase workers' formation and training possibilities. The intention, according to him, is to increase the supply of possibilities, in tune with the demands of the working market.
The 2007-2015 Strategic Industry Map, elaborated by the CNI, which translates the productive sector's view of the future of the country, shows that the businessmen consider quality education vital to the expansion of companies, and the competitiveness of the domestic economy in the foreign market.
According to the survey, in recent years there has been an increase in the average level of education of the workforce in all sectors of the industry. This trend is even more pronounced in the more technology-intense activities, as approximately 85% of all people hired in the sectors of oil extraction and machinery and electronic equipment manufacturing are high school- or college-educated.
Recent surveys show that workers with a higher level of education have greater chances of finding employment, as they are better prepared to absorb and create new technologies and to promote, in the companies, an environment of knowledge, creativity, and innovation. Brazilian minister of Labor and Employment, Carlos Lupi, has been underscoring the need for better and greater investment in professional training.
ABr
