Energy transition and productivity challenge
It is well known that the mediocre average growth of the Brazilian economy is largely due to low labor productivity. Excluding agricultural production, productivity has grown at an average rate of less than 1% per year over the last 30 to 40 years, insufficient to keep up with the country’s vegetative growth and the growing need for employment.As a result, average GDP growth has also been below 1% per year, with peaks and troughs here and there, all closely linked to the international scenario, especially the prices of mineral and agricultural commodities.The era of digitalization of the economy offers Brazil a new opportunity to make up for lost time but also poses the challenge of preparing the workforce quickly enough to meet new needs.Not to mention the need to increase investment, which today fluctuates between 16% and 17% of GDP per year.A paper published in English by researchers Carlos Primo Braga, a professor at the Dom Cabral Foundation and visiting professor at IMD (Switzerland), and John H. Welch, from Mackenzie University and visiting professor at St. Petersburg College (U.S.), highlights the fact that the pace of adoption of digital practices is outpacing the qualification of the workforce for the digital age—and thus offers a glimpse of the scale of the problem that the country needs to solve if it wants to reap results in the new phase of the global economy. The article was written as a contribution to the discussion at the India-Brazil-South Africa Dialogue Forum 2023 in September.Based on data from the World Economic Forum, the study "The Future of Growth and Employment in Brazil" shows that the country could face a net negative impact on job creation due to automation if it is unable to resolve difficulties in training a skilled workforce.In Brazil’s vocational training is hampered by a precarious education system, especially in elementary and secondary schools, and the low level of education of the population. Only one-third of the country’s workforce has completed secondary school. Higher education is limited to 17% of the workforce.The main challenges, according to the document, are three: creating quality jobs, improving the skills of the workforce, and matching the demand for work with the supply of skilled workers.The need to bring young people into the labor market is also an issue. According to the latest data, the unemployment rate for 18- to 24-year-olds in the country is more than 24%, three...
Para continuar a ler
PEÇA SUA AVALIAÇÃO