At Zilia we believe in the development of a society with equal opportunity for all. Based on this principle, one of the pillars of our Social Responsibility Program is to expand access to quality vocational education to young people in cities located in the geographic surroundings of our plants in Brazil.

The employability challenge for young people

A recent IBGE survey concluded that the country has 14.8 million unemployed, which represents 14.7% of the economically active population. But this rate is even higher among younger people. Between the ages of 14 and 17, 46% are looking for professional training to be prepared for the job market. And, from 18 to 24 years old, unemployment affects 31% of people. A technical note released by the Secretariat of Economic Policy of the Ministry of Economy confirms that young people aged between 17 to 29 are the biggest share of people experiencing long-term unemployment (over two years looking for a job vacancy) .

According to a  survey by the National Youth Council, CONJUVE, only 73% of young people who worked before the pandemic are still working. Of these, 16% had their workload reduced. The proportion is even lower among black youth: only 69% continue to work.

It is known that young people starting their careers have one of the highest percentages of unemployment in Brazil. On the other hand, companies lack increasingly qualified manpower to remain competitive in their products and services.

CapacitAção Social Zilia program

The CapacitAção Social Zilia (Zilia Social Capacitation) program aims to reduce this gap by subsidizing scholarships for young people aged between 16 and 24, students or who have studied in public schools.

Tatiane Duarte, Human Development and Corporate Education Manager at Zilia, explains the company’s strategy that led to this initiative: “Social responsibility presents itself as an increasingly important theme in the behavior of organizations. Zilia is at the forefront of several social actions in alignment with our Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) which solidifies the company’s commitment to society. These practices build trust, raise awareness and encourage social change.”

The vocational courses subsidized by Zilia are: “Administrative Assistant”, “Installing Electrician” and “Production Assistant”. They have a 160-hour-workload with total focus on skills for the world of work and for life, enabling the young people to work in public and private companies, businesses or to be self-employed. The courses are certified.

In the current edition of this program, we have approximately 60 young people directly impacted by this action.

The chosen partner to offer Zilia Social Capacitation scholarships was SENAI, a school with nationally recognized quality and expertise. The courses are held at the Atibaia and Bragança Paulista units.

Luiz Henrique de Galvão Marinello, SENAI’s Industry Relations Coordinator, talks about the partnership: “With the mission of raising Brazilian inustry’s competitiveness, we feel honored to be part of the CapacitAção Social Zilia program, through the execution of Professional Qualification courses in Production Line Assistant, Administrative Assistant and Installing Electrician. Programs like this offer young people an excellent opportunity to improve themselves and enter the job market, contributing to their professional and personal growth.”

Zilia bets on partnerships for employability of young people

Zilia’s suppliers have become partners in this purpose, amplifying the results of the action. An example is Consultoria Expert, who will give lectures to these students voluntarily.

Some of the covered topics covered will be:

• Search for jobs and opportunities;
• Job market;
• How to assemble and disclose your resume;
• Job interview format tips; and
• Entrepreneurship tips.

With this action, in addition to the first objective of adding knowledge to the job market, Consultoria Expert will indicate students to possible work opportunities..

Zilia understands that education is the key to transforming society and, with the proper qualifications, these young people will be better prepared to face the challenges of the beginning of their professional careers. Youth is our greatest hope for the future. We need to seize this fuel in pursuit of a fairer, more diverse and more inclusive world.