Education and training groups looking to win a slice of Brazil´s massive preparations for the World Cup 2014 and Rio 2016 should note this week´s announcement of an innovative new program for one of Rio de Janeiro's biggest shanty towns, or favelas.
The state´s Work Secretariat has just launched the inaugural group of trainees in a range of Cup and Olympics-related trades within the ‘Complexo do Alemão’ favela (German Complex), which has been at the heart of recent police and military pacification actions in Rio. The 352 students will receive six months of tuition in areas such as English language, information management and various hospitality services, with the top performers to be offered entry into the work market.
The training of staff to work across the wide range of roles required for the two mega-events is considered a major opportunity for foreign education groups with expertise in such areas, particularly considering the task incorporates 12 World Cup host cities, all with their own particular needs, while Rio´s unprecedented city-wide renovation plans demand education services of a vast and complex scale.
The will to involve Brazil´s underprivileged and effect social change through the preparations adds further dimensions to the requirements.