Public programs of Professional Education and perception of labor market: reports of a qualitative research

Abstract

This paper draws upon a case of manpower mediation arising from a public policy that aims to resolve the problem of unemployment through professional training. Three sectors are analyzed: construction, metal and sales. The public policy is formed at national level but implemented at the local level, which focused on a municipality located in the Greater São Paulo Area. General and specific problems arisen from the case are addressed. The importance of a deliberative politics in labor relations is put forward in the first part. In the second part, a detailed and critical account of the implementation is provided. The paper carries on by giving a prominent role to the social agents' discourse and practices. It concludes by asserting a more complex picture of the labor market, where the reasons and logic of the social actors are taken into account.