Genicleide, Thiago and Elisângela. Three Brazilians in search of a profession. They found one in the backlands of the northeastern Brazilian state of Pernambuco, where the Transnordestina Railway is being built. Genicleide and Elisângela have become truck drivers and Thiago is now a carpenter. All three look forward confidently to a bright and rewarding future.

They all achieved this through the Ongoing Professional Education Program, or Acreditar (Believe), which arrived in Salgueiro, Pernambuco, in March 2010, bringing work opportunities and income to a region whose economy relies on agriculture and has historically faced major challenges. That is where the program got its start on the Transnordestina Railway works. One of Odebrecht’s bases for that project is in Salgueiro, where its teams are building the stretch linking the Port of Pecém in Ceará with the Port of Suape in Pernambuco. In April, the program was introduced at another Pernambuco jobsite: Serra Talhada. In May, it was the turn of Paulistana, in the state of Piauí.

By the end of that month, Acreditar had graduated 766 workers out of the 3,706 students enrolled, 708 of whom are participating in the Federal Government’s Bolsa Família or Family Grant program. One hundred and seven of the graduates were hired to be production and earthworks assistants, steelfixers, carpenters, bricklayers, heavy equipment mechanics, truck drivers, and excavator, grader, farm tractor and crawler tractor operators. And 238 of the graduates are women.

Genicleide da Conceição Santos, 31, is the mother of three. She used to work in sales, but wanted to drive a dump truck. Her father, a farmer, had owned one, and as a child she used to take the wheel now and again. She signed up with Acreditar as soon as the program arrived in Salgueiro. In just 12 days, she had taken the basic, theoretical and practical modules taught by SENAI (National Industrial Apprenticeship Service) instructors. She completed the course on May 28. Now she is waiting to be called in to work at the jobsite. “I want to make this my career,” she says. She already has her sights on her next target: “I’m going to learn to operate an excavator.”

Thiago Bruno Costa, 21, also hoped to get a job at the railway works and his story already has a happy ending. He graduated from the carpentry course in April and started work on May 19.

“This here is everything I imagined!” he says. His stepfather and older brother are carpenters, and Thiago made his own toys as a child. Today, he is helping build a railroad that is over 1,700 km long. Geraldo Jerônimo da Silva listens to Thiago’s conversation with the Odebrecht Informa team with an air of satisfaction. The general supervisor in charge of rail bridges, he has been with Odebrecht for 35 years, and spent the last seven in Angola. “He’s got to say if he wants to be a professional or not,” says Geraldo, referring to Thiago. He explains in the words of a leader: “It takes dedication and patience on our part.” Jorge Raffide, the engineer responsible for rail bridges, adds: “Acreditar is an investment. We mentor the people who join our team. The results will come in a few months’ time.”

If it depends on the new professionals’ motivation, the results will exceed expectations. “I’m here because I like driving and because there’s a lot of prejudice against women drivers,” says Elisângela Rodrigues Chaves, who graduated as a dump truck driver. “I want to help break that taboo.” She started driving at age 9, behind the wheel of her father’s truck. “We have some terrific life stories here,” says Luiz Antonio de Freitas, Odebrecht’s Administrative Officer in Salgueiro.

Railway will link three states

Expectations are that Acreditar will produce another 1,800 skilled workers at the Transnordestina works. This is the first time Odebrecht has implemented the program in partnership with another company, Transnordestina Logística S.A. The two companies are building the railroad under an alliance contract. “As entrepreneurs, we are committed to empowering workers to play an active role in these works and future projects in the region,” says Odebrecht Project Director Pedro Leão. In another first, the Acreditar program is being carried out in two states at the same time on the same project, in Pernambuco and Piauí. “The involvement of local partners, such as municipal governments, churches, trade associations and the media, has been crucial to the results we are achieving with Acreditar,” says Pedro.