Professional training and socioeconomic inclusion among the most vulnerable families: The legacy in Brazil of the Programa Nacional de Acesso ao Ensino Técnico e Emprego (PRONATEC) in the progressive policy cycle

Abstract

In a globalized world with drastically increasing inequality, the challenge of escaping poverty is a pressing one. In the Brazilian progressive policy cycle, a major action aimed at fostering social and productive inclusion was the Programa Nacional de Acesso ao Ensino Técnico e Emprego (PRONATEC, National Programme for Access to Technical Education and Employment) for professional training, run throughout the country. The aim of this article is to analyse the implementation of this programme on a regional scale and to reflect on its legacy for social care policy and the lives of family grant programme (Bolsa Familia) beneficiaries. The methodology involved a case study at the Federal Institute of Rio Grande do Sul (IFRS)/Campus Sertão in the south of Brazil, also using secondary data from the city of Canoas, as well as interviews with federal government management. The results showed the difficulties of understanding and practising social care as a mediating element in policies, but also the importance of and need for this professional activity. The implementation of PRONATEC implied progress in relations with local institutions and it reached the public, but it also revealed limitations resulting from structural problems affecting Brazilian public policy, including its discontinuity and fragmentation. The insufficient effects of PRONATEC from an economic perspective also reflected a dislocation between social policy and structural measures to create worthwhile opportunities, without which the target of overcoming poverty cannot be achieved.