Magneti Marelli Brazil celebrates this year a decade of Formare, a professional learnership project carried out in partnership with Iochpe Foundation which develops, through volunteer action, the potentiality of youngsters from low-income families to integrate them to the society as citizens and professionals.
Currently, this is the main social responsibility program of the company and, ever since 2004, when the first school was opened in Hortolandia site, located on São Paulo countryside, has graduated 763 students. A part from that school, the initiative is present also in the Lavras unit, on Minas Gerais state and in Amparo and Mauá/Santo André, both on Sao Paulo state.
According to Iochpe Foundation, around 80% of the former Formare students get into job market right after the end of the course.
“We believe that there is nothing more important than education to leverage both human development and societies. It is the basic pillar for the evolution of a country. Thus, supporting a project like Formare is, without any doubt, the Magneti Marelli contribution for the construction of a better society, since the project is focused on education and citizenship practice”, emphasizes Gisele Scalo, HR director for Magneti Marelli Mercosur.
Volunteering – The Formare biggest differential is that it reunites community, company and employees inside the same program. This is because of the fact that every educator on the classes of the initiative works for Magneti Marelli and, during the work hours, volunteer as teachers. Today, Magneti Marelli has around 400 volunteer educators working on the project, all of them have received specific training to became able to disseminate their knowledge among the youngsters. Every year, more than 3000 hours of volunteering work is perfomed in all Magneti Marelli schools.
“ The educator also benefits from this activity, being in contact with the student’s reality and legacy, putting itself as a citizen and society transforming agent. Many of them have their self esteem increased, some of them go back to study, which makes us believe that the project also stimulates the employee development”, concludes the HR director.
Altogether, Magneti Marelli offers four different courses on their schools: Maintenance of Automated Machinery Production Assistant (Hortolândia), Metal Products and Services Manufacturing Operator (Amparo), Production and Assembly Products Mechanic (Lavras), Production and Mechanical Installation Assistant (Mauá/Santo André). The courses are recognized by the Brazilian Education Ministry through Federal Technology University of Paraná – UTFPR and are defined from the activities developed by Magneti Marelli and other companies on their region.
In addition to the technical lessons, topics such as hygiene, health, safety, communication and relations skills, various activities of integration (like music and drama, gardening, sign language) are also taught by the staff of Magneti Marelli.