Eltiane Ribeiro, a resident of the quilombola territory of Jambuaçu, in the municipality of Moju in Pará, works with the production of savory snacks and cakes to contribute to her family's income. “When I receive orders for birthdays, events, I find it to be a lot of responsibility and I don't have the courage to take them yet. I want to have the confidence and knowledge for that,” she comments. And when the opportunity came, she seized it. In October, Eltiane attended the first class of the Confectionery course offered by Senai within her community.

The initiative is part of the Professional Training Program, an initiative by Hydro in partnership with Senai that is a result of dialogue with the communities where the company operates. Representing an investment of over R$ 2 million in 2023 alone, the goal is to provide vocational courses for the residents of these communities, leaving a legacy of knowledge that supports sustainable economic and social development.

“The expectation is always the best possible because, through this course, students will have the opportunity to get hands-on experience and absorb theoretical and practical knowledge. From this, they will be able to develop products satisfactorily at home or even outside, undertaking and turning it into income generation,” says Erla Mathias, instructor of courses in the Food area by Senai.

Literature student Elma Viana is a good example of this. She took the Confectionery course in the João Lobo community, in Acará; received the completion certificate in October and has already put into practice everything she learned, selling donuts, cakes, and much more. For her, the next step is to perfect what she learned in the course.”'Senai and Hydro brought the training, and now we will seek the best materials, invest in machinery and equipment, to increasingly produce with quality,” she concludes.

New cycles

Only in October of this year, the Professional Training Program graduated approximately 100 students in four courses in the municipalities of Acará, Moju, and Tomé-Açu. Fisherman Sérgio Cardoso was one of these graduates and received his Welder course certificate at a ceremony at Casa Familiar Rural, also in Jambuaçu: “The word is gratitude for being able to receive the certificate in the place where I was born and raised. I had the opportunity to take the course alongside my father, who is 52 years old, and it was a unique experience for us to discover so much knowledge together. We started a complex course from scratch, and now we are graduating, which is great.”

Hydro's initiative has already benefited more than 700 people. Until August of this year, 285 vacancies were opened, and 8 courses were offered to seven communities. The initiative is aligned with Hydro's strategy to contribute to the development of neighboring communities of its units. “The differential of this program is that, together with Senai, we format the courses for the reality of the community. Today, we know that many communities still lack infrastructure, and residents cannot go to Senai's bases. So, we bring mobile units into the communities where comfort and safety are maintained to conduct the courses. The curriculum is established based on the needs identified in dialogues with the communities. In this way, we seek to continue contributing to the social, economic, and sustainable development of the region, strengthening the relationship between the company and the communities,” comments Eduardo Bustamante, Manager of Dialogue and Engagement at Hydro