STATE SCHOOL APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM What is the State School Apprenticeship Program? Society has been demanding new roles for the school and especially for Secondary Education in Brazil. The effort to guarantee the right to apprenticeship based on the full development of students as well of their personal, academic and professional skills and abilities has gained strength. From this perspective, the Education Secretariat of the State of Ceará (SEDUC) has been discussing with various social players, including Instituto Aliança, UNESCO, STDS, SRTE and the Ministry of Labor, a proposal to reorganize the Secondary Scholl curriculum that would enable using school learning in the current context of opportunities for professional development and inclusion, such as the Apprenticeship Law (Law No. 10,097/2000). Proposal for Curricular Reorganization The proposal for Curricular Reorganization of Secondary Education developed by the Education Secretariat in partnership with Instituto Aliança seeks to strengthen the offer of apprenticeships based on the student’s personal development, protagonism and autonomy from research and coordination with the world of work. The changes in the Secondary Education curriculum involve, inter alia: - Introduction of a course load of 5 hours per week for the development of the Work, Research and Social Practices Center (NTPPS), which is characterized by the organization of experiential workshops based on the valuing of life projects and of the protagonism of students, on the act of educating through research, on project pedagogy, on skills-based learning, and on the mastering of information and communication technologies; - Specific training for teachers working at the Center, including the experience of concepts and, especially, a change in the way of looking at young people and their opportunities for expressing themselves and succeeding in school; - Detailed and individual follow up of the advances and challenges of students by monitoring their apprenticeships and implementation of the program by the teachers. The NTPPS was born as a curricular component that integrates and induces new practices, whose aim to develop social and emotional skills through research, interdisciplinarity and student protagonism. According to its creators, it has effectively contributed to the construction of a school environment that is more integrated, motivating and conducive to the production of knowledge. Human Sciences Work Science Center Nature Sciences Research Languages Work Technology Culture Mathematics The NTPPS and the Apprenticeship Law Much has been discussed about combining school and the world of work. Education in the State of Ceará has shown deep transformations with the creation of the State Schools of Vocational Education and other programs/projects that enable the preparation and qualified access of public school students and graduates to the labor market. The State School Apprenticeship Program complements this effort by coordinating the apprenticeships developed by secondary school students and experienced at the NTPPS with the possibility of work contracts through the Apprenticeship Law for students in the third year of secondary school. School Apprenticeship The School Apprenticeship program emerged as a pioneering project in Brazil, with the objective of taking part of the theoretical activities of the Apprenticeship course to the State Network classrooms, as part of a curricular reorganization of the disciplines of the third Year of Secondary Education. The courses enrolled by the School Apprenticeship Program are: a) Shop and Retail Operators - (Course No. 33017): Among the activities performed by the Apprentice in the company, the list of registered CBOs (Brazilian Classification of Occupations) includes: 421125 - Cashier 521125 - Stocker 521110 – Sales person 521110- Clerk 784105 - Packer b) Administrative Services - (Course No. 33018): Among the activities performed by the Apprentice in the company, the list of registered CBOs includes: 411005 - Office Clerk; 411005 – Inventory Assistance and purchasing assistant; 411010 - Administrative Assistant; 411030 - Personnel Assistant; 414105 – Warehouse Assistant; 422105 – Receptionist; Secretary. COURSE LOAD 05h - BASIC (NTPPS) 20h - PRACTICE (COMPANY) 04H - THEORY (COURSE) = 29 hours The student will have a course load of 29 hours per month and a course load corresponding to 1,280 hours at the end of the year, for certification purposes. THEORETICAL ACTIVITIES Theoretical classes total eight (8) hours per week. REMMUNERATION It should also be noted that this project proposes a partnership without any financial burden for the partner companies, and there is no agreement fee. The courses offered are financed by the Education Secretariat of the State of Ceará. Partner companies therefore are responsible for the Apprentice’s Wage alone. Thus, according to the Apprenticeship Law, the apprentice must be remunerated for the time allocated to both practical and theoretical activities, based on the minimum hourly wage established nationally, except in cases of more favorable conditions agreed by the class union trough a collective agreement (Article 428, § 2 of the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT) and Article 17, sole paragraph of Decree No. 5,598/05). The hours allocated to theoretical activities as well as remunerated weekly rest and holidays should also be included in the salary. In the administrative and telematics group, the wage floor is based on the national minimum wage. In this case, the student's remuneration is R$ 4.00 (four reais/hour), plus the benefits (Home-Work Transportation/remunerated weekly rest...) and lawful deductions from wages provided for in the Consolidation of Labor Laws (2 percent for the Government Severance Indemnity Fund for Employees - FGTS). ABSENCES Absences can be deducted from the apprentice’s wages, including absences from the theoretical apprenticeship course since the hours dedicated to theoretical activities are also part of the apprentice’s course load. Absences that are not lawfully justified (article 131 of the CLT) or authorized by the employer may be deducted from the apprentice’s wages, including with impact on remunerated weekly rest and any holidays in the week. TRANSPORTATION VOUCHERS The transportation voucher is guaranteed for home-company commuting and vice versa or home-training institution and vice versa (article 27 of Decree nº 5,598/05). If on the same day the apprentice needs to commute to the company and to the training institution, transportation vouchers must be provided for the entire trip. SELECTION The employer has total freedom to select the apprentice, subject to compliance with the constitutional principle of equality; with the prohibition of all forms of discrimination against the fundamental rights and freedoms; with the legal provisions pertaining to apprenticeship; with the priority given to adolescents in the age group 16 to 18 years; as well as with the particular guidelines and specificities of each professional apprenticeship program. QUOTA OF APPRENTICES The quota of apprentices is set at a minimum of 5 percent and a maximum of 15 percent per establishment, calculated over the total number of employees whose duties require professional training. Unit fractions will allow for the admission of one apprentice (article 429, heading and §1 of the CLT). TERM OF THE APPRENTICESHIP CONTRACT SEDUC’s learning program uses the 12-month contract with no extension option. TIME LINE OF THE SCHOOL APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM Results for 2014: • 5 municipalities • 12 schools • 27 classes • 1,071 young people initially enrolled • 782 enrolled in the School Apprenticeship Program • 434 hired as apprentices • 502 students certified • 27 teachers trained in the methodology Results for 2015: • 16 municipalities • 24 schools • 46 classes • 1,504 young people initially enrolled • 919 enrolled in the School Apprenticeship Program • 214 young people hired as apprentices • 700 students certified • 33 teachers trained in the methodology Scenario for 2016: • 09 municipalities (Pacatuba, Itapipoca, Camocim, Canindé, Quixadá, Várzea Alegre, Senador Pompeu, Maracanaú, and Fortaleza) • 14 schools • 14 classes • 680 maximum estimated enrolments in the School Apprenticeship Program • 305 young people hired as apprentices • 09 teachers trained in the methodology .