In the last eight years, the annual federal budget for vocational institutes alone has gone from $385 million to $3.8 billion. But the economy’s steady growth over the past decade has further increased industry’s need for an educated workforce, and the education system can’t keep up.
The need is so great that certain high-tech companies, like Embraer, have taken it upon themselves to address the shortage.
“[After] the economy started to grow … the number of engineers prepared through the regular university process was not enough for our demand,