The fifth webinar of the Alliance for Dual Training in Latin America and the Caribbean marked the conclusion of the 2025 cycle, focusing on the connection between vocational education and the productive sector. The meeting, moderated by Alessandra Cruz and Kelly Teixeira from SENAC (Brazil), featured presentations by Claudia Mendes Araújo from SENAI (Brazil) and Rayza Pichardo from INFOTEP (Dominican Republic), who shared experiences highlighting the importance of strengthening ties with enterprises to improve youth employability and respond to labour market demands.

Claudia Mendes presented the results of SENAI’s Industrial Apprenticeship Programme, which in 2024 recorded more than 230,000 enrolments and an employment rate of nearly 79% among its graduates. She also underlined the need to maintain continuous dialogue with industry and to adapt curricula to technological and environmental transformations. “Dual training reaches its full potential when developed in partnership with the productive sector,” she affirmed, adding that “it is not only about fulfilling a legal quota; apprenticeship is a strategy for attracting and retaining talent.”

For her part, Rayza Pichardo outlined INFOTEP’s dual training model, which works with young people aged 16 to 25 through apprenticeship contracts validated by the institution and without any legal quota requirement. She emphasised the role of sectoral advisory committees, technical commissions, and external evaluation boards, which ensure programme relevance and certification of competencies. She also noted that around 89% of Dominican apprentices remain employed in the companies where they were trained, and shared examples of collaboration with firms such as Barrigol, Mercasil, Bahía Princess, and Central Romana. During her address, she stated that “the company becomes a co-trainer of the apprentice, and dual training becomes part of its talent development culture.”

The event concluded with closing remarks from SENAC, which currently holds the pro tempore presidency of the Alliance in 2025. The institution highlighted the importance of joint efforts among countries in the region and of sharing experiences between organisations. “The exchange of good practices across the region is key to addressing shared challenges,” the session concluded, extending an invitation to Alliance members to take part in the upcoming International Conference in Rio de Janeiro, dedicated precisely to the theme of collaboration with the productive sector.