Acreditar (“Believe”) Program

Construtora Norberto Odebrecht – the majority shareholder in the Construtor Santo Antônio Consortium – reached the banks of the Madeira River in Porto Velho (RO) with aims of leading the construction work for the Santo Antônio Hydroelectric Power
Plant. There it found a community that lacked basic services, such as health, safety, education and sanitation, and was faced with an even bigger challenge: to develop a project that would help promote the region’s development. The success of the business would depend on this.

It is within this context that the Continued Training Program – Acreditar (“Believe”) began in 2008. The partnership between Construtora Norberto Odebrecht and the Brazilian Ministry of Social Development and Fight Against Hunger emerged as a solution for a conflicting reality: the need to prioritize local labor in a city unequipped with personnel trained for work.

With the support of the state and municipal governments, the program began to offer free qualification for professions such as bricklayer, carpenter, assembler, helper, electrician, welder and plumber. Once they are trained, many of the participants are hired for the Odebrecht construction projects, preferably those enrolled in social programs such as the federal government's Family Stipend.

Women's increased interest in the generated opportunities led to a scenario that before was unheard of. A large female contingent took charge of the brute tasks of heavy construction, adding differentiated resources to the construction of the hydroelectric power plant.

The Brazilian federal government has indicated the Acreditar (“Believe”) formula as an example for future partnerships with private initiative in the social realm. Due to its high level of success, the methodology has already been replicated in other
states by the construction company and even extended beyond company borders when it was adopted by Braskem. The program reached Jeceaba (MG), the construction of the Arroio Taquarembó Dam (RS), the Dom Pedrito construction work (RS) and the Petrochemical Pole green plastic plant in Triunfo (RS).