Paraná, November 5, 2019 – Klabin and government officials visited yesterday (Nov. 4) the construction site of the State Center for Vocational Forestry and Agricultural Education of Ortigueira, Paraná, the first forestry vocational school in Brazil, announced in April this year in a partnership between Klabin, the Paraná state government and the municipality of Ortigueira.

Construction work on the school is progressing according to schedule. Activities will begin next academic year (February 2020) and the simplified selection process (PSS) to hire teachers is in progress, with applications accepted until 5 p.m. next Friday (Nov. 8). Applications must be submitted directly through the PSS system of the Paraná State Education Department at http://www.pss.pr.gov.br/

According to Sueli Martins, head of the Regional Education Center, “reaching this moment of inspecting the final details of construction is a dream come true. It is a project we believed in right from the beginning, because, as educators, we want our country to flourish and that can only be achieved by focusing on education.”

“We are immensely happy to see the progress of construction work on the vocational school that will serve Brazil. We have implemented various initiatives in the city but the Forestry and Agricultural Vocation Education Center will be one of the milestones of this administration. Ortigueira will be recognized in the country not just for the knowledge of its population, but as a reference for housing the first vocational school of this kind, which will provide specialized training and open numerous job opportunities in the city and all over Brazil,” said Lourdes Banach, mayor of Ortigueira.

“Klabin is proud to contribute and participate in the conception of this project. The vocational school specially focused on this subject will produce benefits for the community, which will have yet another option for novel and high-quality vocational training, as well as for companies in the region and across Brazil, which can count on this specialized manpower,” explained Uilson Paiva, Social Responsibility and Community Relations manager at Klabin.

Visitors included Elisandro Frigo, director-general of the State Education Department; José Ferreira, CEO of the Paraná Institute of Educational Development (Fundepar); and Claus Marchiori, coordinator of Regional Centers Management.

State Center for Vocational Forestry and Agricultural Education

The school, with capacity for 800 students, will initially offer three programs: Forestry operations technician; Heavy machinery maintenance technician; and Agribusiness technician, which will be full-time programs (simultaneously with regular secondary school curriculum) and as continuing education (for students who have passed secondary school and wish only to acquire vocational diploma). Around 300 seats will be offered in the boarding and semi-boarding modes, enabling the entry of students from all over the country.