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AED is a nonprofit organization working globally to improve education, health, civil society and economic development.
AED’s ICT Training Program in Brazil Featured in Business Week
AED’s ICT Training Program in Brazil Featured in Business Week Cintia Arantes, a recent graduate from an AED employability training project for very poor young people in Recife, Brazil, was featured on the cover of the September 27 international edition of Business Week. The accompanying story, which also ran in the U.S. edition, focused on the future of technology in nations such as Brazil, India, and China.
Arantes, who is interning at the largest software company in Recife and taking courses at a IBRATEC, a private information and communications technology, or ICT, college, through a scholarship orchestrated by AED’s project coordinator Tania Ogasawara, is one of 50 students from impoverished backgrounds who began and graduated from Programa Para o Futuro, an 24-month pilot ICT and employability training program supported by USAID/Brasil. Nearly 40 students have found well-paying jobs and internships as a result of the program and over three quarters of them are attending IBRATEC on scholarships. The Business Week article also recognizes Eduardo de Santana,now the head of information technology for the Recife office of the largest law firm in Latin America. These are just two examples of youth who were able to transform their lives, break the tenacious cycle of poverty, and create new and positive futures. Unprecedented Success “Given their circumstances and the demand for income to support their families, the 100 percent graduation rate is unprecedented for programs like this in Brazil and elsewhere.” said Eric Rusten, of the AED Technology Center, who designed and directed the project. Rusten says the program’s success is largely due the innovative curriculum and the project-based instructional method that simulated the workplace and provided youth with daily opportunities for practical, hands-on and experiential learning. Learning projects focused on topics including network configuration, Linux, troubleshooting computer problems, installing WiFi, or wireless systems, applying for jobs and handling difficult questions during job interviews. In addition, Portuguese and English instruction was integrated into the technical and work-place training to build strong communication skills. Young people in the program also participated in the first e-Mentoring program in Brazil that linked each youth with a professional from local companies through e-mail and Instant Messaging. The program also benefited from strong partnerships developed with Brazilian and multinational businesses and Brazilian NGOs. The four implementing organizations are: Casa de Passagem; CDI-Pernambuco; Porto Digital; and LTNet-Brasil. Among the companies participating in the program were IBM-Brazil, Microsoft-Brazil, the Bank of Brazil, ABA and IBRATEC. The project also has support from Brazil’s Federal Ministry of Justice and the State Government of Pernambuco. In addition, about 50 local companies partnered with AED and the program by providing time off for their staff to be effective e-Mentors to participating youth. Transforming Lives
The students credit the program with enabling them to transform their lives, giving them the skills needed to compete successfully for quality jobs and opening the doors to a better future. “It’s helping me gain the skills and showing me the path I need to follow to make my dreams come true,” said 21-year-old Abra?o Carneiro, who wants to become a computer engineer. Last year, Carneiro faced an uncertain future. While he had found a way to pay for the college entrance exam for computer science and passed the exam, he couldn’t get the money he needed to start school. As a result of his participation in Programa Para o Futuro, he has learned about Linux, Internet communication protocols and networking, while gaining information technology experience as an intern for a software development company. All of Programa graduates were awarded scholarships by IBRATEC and more than three-quarters of them are now enrolled in this college where they are outperforming students from middle- and upper-class backgrounds. “This demonstrates how targeted social change programs can have a significant economic impact and help lift people out of poverty," said AED President Stephen F. Moseley, who attended the graduation ceremony for Programa youth in Recife in the spring. |
