Secondary education now has graduate courses
O Estado de S. Paulo - 07/17/2008
The need of trained manpower in some sectors has taken companies and educational institutions to seek solutions for the "professional black-out". This month, IBM launched, in partnership with the Paula Souza Center, a free course of Technical Specialization in Java and in WebSphere and Rational software. The course is aimed at professionals who have finished the secondary technical education. "It is the first post-technical course of the Paula Souza Center", says Paulo Henrique Chíxaro, director of one of the units of the state center for technical education. After a series of evaluations, the list of students approved was released this week, and the classes will be taught in the technical schools of Americana, Hortolândia, and Jundiaí. In total, the Paula Souza Center manages 141 Technical Schools (Etecs) in São Paulo. IBM trained the teachers and provided the laboratories and material for the course. "Both the technical secondary education and the graduate courses give students a broader view", says Sirlene Toledo, IBM manager for educational partnerships. "In higher education, there are other courses, such as graduate and extension courses, and other options of courses for the acquisition of specific knowledge. Such did not exist at the technical level". She affirms that the course will allow professionals to quickly enter the work market after six months. "There is a very large demand for this people. Until 2010, the Brazilian technology market will have a deficit of 100 thousand professionals", she says. IBM itself has 1.5 thousand job openings in several areas. "We will keep an eye on the students of this course and on those of the ones that will come in the future." She says that, since the search for the post-technical course was big, IBM and the Paula Souza Center have already entered into the development a new course, specialization in Mainframes. According to Chíxaro, the partnership has already awakened the interest of seeking for the development of post-technicians in other areas in the center. "Besides technology, the model can be applied in the area of health, which also requires specific knowledge", she says.