Flaviopédia Português
Brazil that Prepares

Preparing for the jobs that exist

studying has to lead to a job, not to a useless diploma

Proposes expanding technical education in high school with the productive sector, moving higher education to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation and adopting income-contingent student loans.

In the program: [p. 36, 37] · Translated by Flaviopédia from the official Portuguese text; the Portuguese quote is authoritative. Read the original in Portuguese

What the program says

There are young graduates who cannot find a job and companies with open positions that cannot find anyone who knows how to do the work. This gap between what schools teach and what the market needs is costly twice over: it costs young people the years of study that do not turn into work, and it costs the country the growth it forgoes for lack of qualified people. For years, organized sectors have resisted technical education geared to the real needs of the market, as if preparing young people to work were something lesser. We will expand the offer of technical education for high school students, so that young people leave school with a profession already in hand, and not just a diploma. And we will provide this technical training in partnership with the productive sector, with a focus on innovation, so that those who train the professional talk directly with those who will hire them. In this partnership, the productive sector will be able to fund technical training scholarships, financing the qualification of the professionals it needs. Schools also need to prepare students for the economy that is on its way. We will treat training as a driver of technological transformation, aligning what is taught with the professions of the present and the future, and create the “Política Nacional de Formação de Talentos” (“National Talent Development Policy”), to identify and develop the skills the labor market will demand. Brazil cannot train people for the past while the world of work races ahead. In higher education, we will transfer governance to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, unifying science and higher education under the same roof. CAPES (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel) and CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development) will start to prioritize productive impact, innovation and technology transfer, so that research done at the university reaches industry and becomes products, jobs and income, instead of sitting on the shelf. And market-oriented graduate courses, the lato sensu programs, will bring companies and universities closer together: educational institutions will be able to receive funding in exchange for training the professionals the country needs, rewarding those who train for the jobs that exist. We will also improve student financing. The current model drives away low-income young people, who give up on college for fear of finishing the course drowning in debt, even before their first job. In its place, we will adopt the “Empréstimo Contingente à Renda” (“Income-Contingent Loan”): the student only starts paying when employed and earning, the installment amount is proportional to what they earn, and the term is much longer. Studying stops being a risky bet and once again becomes the safe path to getting ahead in life. [p. 36, 37]

In plain language

  • The program states that there are young graduates without jobs and companies unable to find qualified professionals. It proposes expanding technical education in high school, in partnership with the productive sector and with a focus on innovation, and provides for companies being able to fund technical training scholarships.
  • It provides for aligning education with the professions of the present and the future and creating the Política Nacional de Formação de Talentos, to identify and develop the skills the labor market will demand.
  • In higher education, it proposes transferring governance to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, unifying science and higher education. CAPES and CNPq would prioritize productive impact, innovation and technology transfer to industry.
  • In lato sensu graduate programs, which are market-oriented, it provides for educational institutions being able to receive funding in exchange for training professionals the country needs, bringing companies and universities closer together.
  • The text states that the current student financing model drives away low-income young people and proposes replacing it with the Empréstimo Contingente à Renda: the student only starts paying when employed and earning an income, the installment is proportional to what they earn, and the term is longer.

What is not in the program

  • It does not state the cost or funding source for expanding technical education and for the Empréstimo Contingente à Renda.
  • It sets no targets for technical education places and no timelines for the measures.
  • It does not define the rules of the Empréstimo Contingente à Renda, such as the percentage of income charged, the income level at which repayment begins and the exact term.
  • It does not name the legal instrument for transferring governance of higher education to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.
  • It does not detail where the funding for institutions in lato sensu graduate programs would come from, nor how the Política Nacional de Formação de Talentos would work.