“In Brazil the entry of most young people into the labor market occurs without any type of professional training.”
Drawing on the historical development and current policy landscape of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Brazil, this Expert CERE Seminar examines the evolution, structure and contemporary challenges of the country’s vocational education system. The speaker is Dr. Marise Ramos, Professor at the Faculty of Education and the Postgraduate Program in Public Policies and Human Development at the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ) & Researcher at the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) and the Rio de Janeiro State Research Foundation (FAPERJ).
She presents the national provision of vocational education, with particular emphasis on the Federal Network of Professional and Technological Education, the country's principal institution responsible for delivering TVET policy. The seminar also traces the origins of vocational education in Brazil, beginning with the establishment of the Schools of Apprentice Artisans in 1909, and outlines how today’s system is organised around technological axes, including Information and Communication, Industrial Control and Processes, Management and Business, and Natural Resources.
Focusing on competing theoretical approaches to vocational education, Dr. Ramos discusses the debate between the concepts of "qualification as a social relation" and the "competency model". She also examines the relationship between vocational education and upper secondary education, highlighting the role of high school in preparing skilled technical workers.
Through her analysis of the historical trajectory, institutional organisation, and policy debates surrounding Brazilian TVET, Dr. Ramos argues that the system reflects enduring contradictions between educational, social, and economic objectives. The seminar concludes by considering the current political challenges facing vocational education in Brazil, including growing concerns over labour precarity and the future direction of professional and technological education.
She presents the national provision of vocational education, with particular emphasis on the Federal Network of Professional and Technological Education, the country's principal institution responsible for delivering TVET policy. The seminar also traces the origins of vocational education in Brazil, beginning with the establishment of the Schools of Apprentice Artisans in 1909, and outlines how today’s system is organised around technological axes, including Information and Communication, Industrial Control and Processes, Management and Business, and Natural Resources.
Focusing on competing theoretical approaches to vocational education, Dr. Ramos discusses the debate between the concepts of "qualification as a social relation" and the "competency model". She also examines the relationship between vocational education and upper secondary education, highlighting the role of high school in preparing skilled technical workers.
Through her analysis of the historical trajectory, institutional organisation, and policy debates surrounding Brazilian TVET, Dr. Ramos argues that the system reflects enduring contradictions between educational, social, and economic objectives. The seminar concludes by considering the current political challenges facing vocational education in Brazil, including growing concerns over labour precarity and the future direction of professional and technological education.