NOTÍCIAS
4 de Julho de 2024 às 13:35
Vocational education in Africa: 3,000 young people trained in partnership with SENAI in 10 years
More than 3,000 young people from São Tomé and Príncipe, an African country close to the equator, have received professional qualifications over the last 10 years through the Brazil - São Tomé and Príncipe Professional Training Center. The local government created the institution with the support of Agência Brasileira de Cooperação (ABC) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE) in partnership with Serviço Nacional de Aprendizagem Industrial (SENAI).
In 2024, when it completes a decade, the center will take a new step through international cooperation: implementing three technical courses integrated with high school in computer networking, electrotechnics, and administration. It is a pioneering initiative in the partnership between the countries, with new possibilities and opportunities for professional training.
The school has become a reference in São Tomé and Príncipe
The training center in São Tomé and Príncipe is the primary reference for short-term professional education in the country. By helping to train the workforce, especially young people, the institution boosts local socio-economic development by supporting micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. In the partnership, SENAI offers all the professional education expertise it has accumulated over the years.
"Our main goal is to contribute to local development and make the country attractive to Brazilian companies that will internationalize in the future. They go knowing that in these countries where we are working, they can count on skilled labor and technological services of the SENAI standard, just like in Brazil," says CNI's International Relations Superintendent, Frederico Lamego.
More than US$7 million has already been invested in the training center
The Brazil - São Tomé and Príncipe Vocational Training Center was inaugurated in 2010, still as a polytechnic center, and was supported by ABC to have an adequate structure to offer courses in civil construction, electricity, locksmithing, welding, car and motorcycle mechanics, food processing and IT.
Since then, ABC has earmarked US$ 7.6 million for this international cooperation project. SENAI coordinated the Center's implementation, from construction to training instructors and managers, including the courses, workshops, and laboratories, installing machinery and equipment, and supervising activities.
SENAI qualifies inside and outside Brazil
SENAI offers vocational, technical, and technological training in 28 industrial sectors in Brazil, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate courses, and meets international demands for training or passing on its experience to other organizations and institutes worldwide.
The institution also works to implement international projects, with funding from ABC, in developing countries, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia. Through collaboration with companies, public institutions, cooperation agencies, and international organizations, SENAI has helped set up vocational training centers on three continents and 11 countries, where more than 70,000 people have graduated.
International activities are shared between the National Department and SENAI's state units.
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