The Goodman Mais Education Program, Brazil
Education, mentoring and employment for young people
Brazil faces a raft of issues stemming from serious social inequality. Young people are heavily impacted, with around one third of Brazilians not finishing high school so they can earn an income for their families. For this reason, The Goodman Foundation focuses on education, given its capacity to improve so many aspects of a person’s life.
The Foundation, together with experts from the education sector, developed the Goodman Mais (‘More’) Education Program to respond to challenges in education and employment focusing on young people in disadvantaged areas of Sao Paulo.
The bespoke program offers studies in Environment Management, delivered by training provider Senac, providing participants with an impactful technical qualification. In addition, soft-skill development, mentoring and career pathway support is provided via Goodman’s people, customers and partners, supporting its graduates find better paying jobs in the challenging Brazilian market.
The program is flexible, providing support as unanticipated challenges arise: in the first year, it became obvious that some students had no access to laptops – so were provided one. For others, the cost of bus travel to and from school was a barrier – monthly bus passes are now built into the program.
Goodman continues to build on the success of the program, evolving it and bringing on new participants every year.