| “Being a volunteer means having hope and enthusiasm and believing that your action can bring to reality the dream of those who most need our support and make the world a better place to live.” |
Promoting a better future
Investing in young people is a priority for PricewaterhouseCoopers Brazil. The country’s young workers have been most affected by the increase in the unemployment rate over the past decade. They account for 45 percent of the unemployed, though they represent only one quarter of the economically active population.
PwC Brazil runs a Citizenship Program to focus efforts on changing this situation and transforming the future. Through a partnership with Associação Caminhando Juntos (ACJ) – a non-profit organisation associated with United Way International – the firm aims to promote social inclusion for low-income young people in the State of São Paulo.
“We offer financial and logistic support to the projects developed in partnership with the ACJ, and our professionals offer their time and expertise as volunteers,” explains Mark Vogt, PwC partner and ACJ’s board chairman.
Since 2004, PwC Brazil has offered its training centre facilities to young people in São Paulo, giving them access to finance, English and accounting classes.
The PwC volunteers at the centre provide instruction and collaborate on ways to improve the local community. Helio Almeida, a PwC manager and volunteer on this programme, adapted PwC’s new hire accounting course for the underprivileged young students.
“Being a volunteer means having hope and enthusiasm and believing that your action can bring to reality the dream of those who most need our support,” he says.
This experience has inspired PwC professionals across Brazil to improve the employment opportunities for young adults in their communities.
