Investe SP promotes professional exchange program with investment promotion agency from Portugal
Consul-General of Portugal in São Paulo enters into a protocol at the office of the company from São Paulo; Employee will spend 40 days learning the best practices at Aicep
On Wednesday, Oct. 2, the Consul-General of Portugal in São Paulo, Paulo Lopes Lourenço and the director of the São Paulo Office of AICEP (Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade of Portugal), gathered at the office of Investe São Paulo to enter into a cooperation agreement between the two agencies.
The goal is to take an employee of Investe SP to spend 40 days at the office of the Portuguese company, watching the strategies of AICEP and exchanging the best practices in investment promotion. The exchange employee will also have the task of prospecting new business to the state.
This is already the fourth professional exchange conducted by Investe SP with investment promotion agencies. This time, the program will last 40 days and begins in November 2013.
Selection
The exchange programs conducted by Investe São Paulo with other agencies involve a complex and transparent selection process. It begins with the launch of a public notice, which discloses the rules for the assessment in two phases: the action plan and the presentation.
In the action plan, the candidates must describe what they propose to do in case they are selected for the task. The document, in English, consists of four parts: benchmarking (observation of processes and best practices), prospecting for new business, promoting the State of São Paulo as an investment destination, and professional and personal experience.
The plans are evaluated anonymously by a committee formed by two internal directors and three external guests. Among them, usually, includes the consul or vice-consul of the country where the program will be held. This part of the process corresponds to 60% of the total score of the employee.
In the second phase, the candidates should prepare a 30 minute presentation, also in English, for a fictional company of a certain economic sector. The aim is to assess the skills of each employee to sell the state, creating relationships with potential investors and get the most out of the exchange program. This presentation, assessed by the same committee, corresponds to the remaining 40% of the total score of the candidate.
The process allows employees from all areas of the agency to have the chance to experience the exchange program.
Only this year, the agency has sent employees to spend some time at Kotra, the investment promotion agency of South Korea http://www.investe.sp.gov.br/noticias/lenoticia.php?id=18143), and to three agencies in the United Kingdom (http://www.investe.sp.gov.br/noticias/lenoticia.php?id=18359 ): UKTI, which promotes investments and exports for the country as a whole, London & Partners, which promotes London, and Midas, which promotes the Manchester region. The first exchange program was held in 2012, with Jetro (http://www.investe.sp.gov.br/noticias/lenoticia.php?id=17021), the Japan External Trade Organization.