In December, a CEFET center (Celso Suckow da Fonseca Federal Center for Technological Education) was opened in Itaguaí, the first technical school in the Green Coast region of the state of Rio de Janeiro. The school, which cost R$12 million to build, was paid for entirely by Vale.
The school is the result of an agreement signed in 2008 by Vale, CEFET-RJ and the municipal government of Itaguaí, which provided the land to build it on. It took two years to build the school, although courses began soon after the contract was signed, making temporary use of school buildings provided by the municipal government. During this period, 29 students completed a technical course on port operations and they have all been hired by Vale.
The center will provide technical courses on mechanics and port operations and a higher education course on mechanical engineering. The latter will be the first university-equivalent course ever provided in the community.
Capacity for up to 1,200 students
The 3,800 m² building can teach up to 1,200 students and is equipped with 15 classrooms, an auditorium for 250 people, a library and laboratories with high-tech equipment for research into electrical mechanics and workplace safety. Around 120 students have so far enrolled on the courses provided by the center.