FIELD OF INTERVENTION: Socio-economic Development, Capacity Building, Professional Training
GEOGRAPHICAL AREA: Latin America, Brazil, São Paulo
SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT: The selected area where this initiative is to be developed is the district of São Paulo, where Italian residents aged between 18 and 64 are about 77 thousand, with a further 5 and a half million people of Italian descent, representing 55% of São Paulo population. Although Brazil has become the tenth most industrialized Country in the world, socio-economic differences are enormous, particularly affecting young people, including those of Italian origin. In Brazil there are about 250 Italian enterprises, mainly active in car manufacturing, furniture, shoes and fashion sectors. In these last two sectors, many of the operating enterprises were established by entrepreneurs of Italian origin and are mainly located in the district of São Paulo, where interesting opportunities are opening up in the design sector and Italy can play a key role both for the strong presence of residents of Italian origin, as well as for its positive image in the Country and for the market space available in the industry. The project aims to provide training to those workers employed in the textile sector (or, in general, in the fashion industry) to improve knowledge and use of the main computer based tools applied to fashion and design, such as AutoCAD, and to examine subjects such as professional drawing, textile merceology, modeling. A fashion designer carries out the modeling process on a computer (usually, it happens on paper): he/she is the creative making clothing collections, from idea to product. And, to turn ideas into drawings, he/she needs a precise methodology to stylize human figure by means of various computer based graphic elaboration techniques.
OBJECTIVES: ● Strengthen and promote computer literacy to support job creation and to increase opportunities for professional growth. ● Gain and strengthen knowledge of the main information technology tools, for those employed in the textile or fashion sector, not only related to the strengthening of basic knowledge, which nowadays is essential in any employment context, but offering also the opportunity to gain specialized technical expertise related to design applicable to styling, by using the most popular tools in the field of clothes and accessories modeling, design and creation, namely AutoCAD applied to fashion. ● Strengthen professionalism for participants operating in the field of design and fashion. Providing them with technical and specialized knowledge, with the aim of improving their functionality in the sector, making them faster and more efficient in the management and creation of models to be transformed in finished products, preparing them to optimize working time, the organization of working groups and the storage of data and information. ● Improve the employment status of persons employed in the textile sector, stimulating creativity, efficiency, autonomy and the organization of work.
ACTIVITIES:
- Detailed design training, aimed at increasing knowledge on territorial reference context, employment status and training gaps for Italian residents in the district of São Paulo.
- Information and awareness-raising activity, aiming at presenting objectives and contents of the project and at the widest possible dissemination of the opportunities offered by the project, so to be able to reach the targeted recipients.
- Selection of participants, through direct contact with enterprises and motivational interviews (motivation to work, to training, commitments forecast and relative availabilities).
- Training programs, for a total of 300 hours, of which 60 in DL (Distance Learning).
- Dissemination of results.
RESULTS:
- In-depth knowledge of Windows operating system and Office applications, gained.
- Ability to use AutoCAD applied to fashion and design (in particular, design and styling applications such as LECT – PGS – GENMA – MARKA – WINTRO), acquired.
- Knowledge on history of costume and history and criticism of designers, increased.
- Ability to recognize market trends, acquired.
- Knowledge on marketing techniques, gained.
- Ability to develop the “Theory of perception”, aimed at grasping the trends from the outside world, acquired.
- Knowledge needed to organize a fashion show or event, gained.
PARTNERSHIP: Lead applicant: Progetto Sud. Partners: DIDACIEBE – Brasil – Europe Education Center, FCL (Cooperative “Training Cooperation Work”), National School Transport and Logistics, UIM (Union “Italians around the world”), Dida Group s.r.l.
TIME PERIOD/DURATION: 25/11/2009 – 23/11/2010 (12 months).
DONOR: Ministry of Labour