New areas of cooperation agreed upon
BIBB and the Brazilian National Service for Industrial Vocational Training, SENAI (Serviço Nacional de Aprendizagem Industrial), have committed to continue and intensify their successful cooperation that has already spanned over 28 years. The two vocational training institutions formally sealed this four-year agreement on 4 November 2026 at an international conference in São Paulo. Birgit Thomann (Head of department VET International at BIBB) and Carlos Eduardo de Medeiros Braguini (Superintendent for Vocational and Higher Education at SENAI) reaffirmed their commitment to future cooperation at a signing ceremony, held on the first day. The "Open Innovation in TVET" conference is being held as part of the "Towards a Global TVET Agenda" (TGTA) initiative.
BIBB and SENAI have defined the following priority areas for cooperation in the period 2026 - 2030:
- Innovation in vocational education and training for professionals
- Climate adaptation and resilience through VET
- Regional and global alliances
“The technological transformations currently taking place around the world require the continuous evolution of vocational education and training, guided by data and evidence and capable of delivering results on the last mile: in classrooms, in people's training, and in the day-to-day operations of industry. It is with this commitment that SENAI and BIBB are strengthening their 28-year partnership, which connects the exchange of experiences with concrete innovation projects. One example is the EdTech call, through which SENAI students and teachers test solutions from different parts of the world. This new agreement expands our ability to learn together and turn this knowledge into tangible improvements in the quality of training,” Braguini highlighted.
BIBB Head of Department Birgit Thomann highlighted the importance of climate adaptation in VET: “In Brazil, the effects of El Niño are becoming increasingly noticeable. Germany and Europe have just experienced their hottest summer since weather records began. This issue is of paramount importance for our societies - and for educating and training young people”, she said. “What makes SENAI such an important partner for us is its close links with Brazilian industry, its extensive hands-on training expertise and its strong focus on innovation”, Thomann added. SENAI is the largest organisation for initial and continuing VET in industry in Latin America. It is represented by over 800 training centres in every Brazilian state and employs over 35,000 staff nationwide. In addition to its more than 59 technology institutes, SENAI also operates 28 innovation institutes. SENAI itself runs large-scale, practice-oriented training programmes, thereby complementing BIBB’s role in the areas of research, policy advice and system development.
The cooperation between BIBB and SENAI dates back to 1998. In recent years, the two institutions have engaged in ongoing professional dialogue, for example on the modernisation of training content, the digital competencies of teaching staff, and in the context of international events such as the TVET Leadership Programme (as part of the TGTA initiative at UNESCO-UNEVOC), WorldSkills and the Hannover Messe. In addition, SENAI and BIBB have also launched major joint projects, such as an International Roadshow on Digital Media in VET in 2023 and an international call for EdTech start-ups in 2025/26.