New York, USA, 2 March 2021 – The World Economic Forum and the Secretariat of Productivity, Employment and Competitiveness of the Government of Brazil and the Ministry of the Economy have held the first Brazil Skills Accelerator Initiative co-chair meeting. The Accelerator aims to develop a system analysis and action plan to reach 8 million Brazilian workers through national training programmes.
The Accelerator will focus on local and global components, creating a unique public-private platform that brings together key business, government and civil society actors into a larger community of purpose and action. The Accelerator aims to close the skills gaps between the current and future workforce and promote the reskilling and upskilling of the Brazilian labour force by matching the more demanded capabilities. The object is to address the accelerated digitalization and the emergence of broader dissemination of new technologies, which has impacted the labour markets.
The Accelerator is co-chaired by the Deputy Ministers of Economy and Education and by Microsoft Brazil, Banco BTG Pactual, Banco do Brasil, and SENAI (National Industrial Training Service) from the private sector.
Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director, World Economic Forum, said: "World Economic Forum research suggests that accelerated investment in upskilling and reskilling of workers could add at least $6.5 trillion to global GDP by 2030. As part of the Reskilling Revolution initiative that has already provided reskilling and upskilling support to more than 50 million people, this public-private platform will address skills gaps and reshape the way Brazil develops and deploys its talent, creating equal opportunities for all."
Marisol Argueta, Head of Latin America, World Economic Forum, reiterated that "this is part of the scope of work developed with the Government of Brazil on areas of strategic significance, leveraging public-private capabilities and global expertise to address social and economic challenges, particularly, in this case, at defying times for employment around the world, when a skilled labour force is key for the country's competitiveness."
Carlos Alexandre Da Costa, Brazil’s Vice-Minister of Economy, confirmed that "this initiative will build on flagship reskilling initiatives in the country, including Emprega+, which aims to offer professional qualification courses according to the demands of the job market, strengthen apprenticeship programmes and the National Employment System for the placement of workers."
With the co-chairs' directives, the initiative will focus on defining an action plan, setting up working groups, and expanding the community to collect broad commitments to action, track progress and ensure impact.
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