To preserve the skilled labor of their defense Area teams, who had to slow the pace of projects such as the KC-390 military cargo, Embraer is relocating some professionals for the commercial jet program E-2, that is full swing.
The fall of 16.5% in the defense area of revenue affected the company's financial results in the second quarter. With the delay in the transfer of funds, certification of the KC-390, which has always been considered a priority project for the Government, was delayed in one year and the first deliveries before planned for 2016 will only happen in the first half of 2018.
Despite the difficulties in financial matters, investments in training and development of professionals have been kept, according to the company. In 2014, the Company invested R $ 15 million in training and professional development programs.
Over the past decade the Brazilian manufacturer also invested $ 5 million in two major training programs for aeronautical engineers and designers of the company. With more than 1,300 engineering graduates, the Specialization Program in Engineering (EPE), in partnership with the ITA (Technological Institute of Aeronautics), attracts every year 60 candidates per seat.
Latest, the Program Designer Embraer (PPE) trained and hired 124 professionals to meet the increased demand for new company projects in all areas, such as the KC-390, the E2 jets and Legacy 450 and 500 executives, reported the Personnel Development Director of Embraer, Daniela Sena.
"With 60 engineers trained annually at Masters level, the PEE feeds the engineering development chain Embraer. For designers, there is no training in Brazil. In the PPE we customize the training for our needs," explains the director .
Selected by the EPP in 2013, the aircraft designer Naiara Rose dos Santos is now working on the design of electrical systems of E2 jets. "The EPP course prepared me to work on the project, but keep doing other courses offered by the company and thus specialize even more to the development of new programs," he said. Encouraged by the company, Naiara started to attend mechanical engineering and has just completed an English course abroad.
Manufacturers dismiss and country loses experts
A master's degree in optics and expertise in the International Society for Optics and Photonics (Spie) and a complementary training course in optical design software in ZEMAX, US, Erica says that decided to leave the space field and defense, after being fired, because it saw no prospect of being able to apply their knowledge in another company or institution.
"Brazil has a very high investment for technology development of high-resolution cameras in the country. The first option was to buy it out, as happened in the first two satellites made with China," he says. For the scientist, the country lost the opportunity to continue evolving in the application of this knowledge to the development of other types of cameras and advanced optical equipment.
Orbital specializing in the development of solar panels for satellites, reduced by 50% the number of employees, of which 80% highly qualified, and today has 21 employees. Part of this reduction was due to dismissal and part for lack of motivation. "Most of the people left because they lost motivation and therefore decided to work on other less demanding technology sector," said company president Celio Vaz.
Helibras in output to keep professionals was exporting engineering services for the Airbus Helicopters group. Considered the fourth pillar of engineering matrix, along with France, Germany and Spain, Helibras in Brazil was being able to design a fully national helicopter within five years, but with the crisis the project was postponed.
The company's engineering center in Itajubá currently has 73 experts. The company started with seven people in 2009. "Some joined the plan of voluntary redundancies, but the most important technical skills and strategic for the group we are managing to maintain," says Walter Filho, director of the engineering center of Helibras.
The strategy to insure this manpower, according Son, involves beyond the sale of international services for affiliates of Helicopters Airbus in the world, the development of differentiated solutions that improve the competitiveness of branded products in the Brazilian market and in Latin America. "A recent example is the vip inside the helicópopters in the world, the development of differentiated solutions that improve the competitiveness of branded products in the Brazilian market and in Latin America." A recent example is the vip inside the H130 helicopter, which was entirely made by Helibras in Brazil. The product has the potential to be exported to other countries in the region, "he said.
After investing in manpower, including training and expertise abroad, the aerospace and defense industry in Brazil is laying off to face the cutting government investment. In addition to the cost of dismissal, these people take much knowledge of the companies. According to the AIAB (Association of Aerospace Industries of Brazil), the aerospace and defense now employs 24,000 people, of which most, about 19,000 people work at Embraer. But the space sector is the hardest hit.
The lack of new projects and contracts, as well as budget constraint, threatens the survival of these companies and their teams. The production of spatial area Mectron, a subsidiary of Odebrecht Defense and Technology and responsible for the development of missiles, torpedoes, radar and space systems, was closed in the first half and 32 people were laid off. The five employees who were at the managerial level, playing some projects are still in progress, according to the president of Odebrecht Defence, André Amaro. In total, the Mectron had 500 employees at the beginning of the year and now has 360.
Degree in electronic engineering from ITA (Technological Institute of Aeronautics) Arnaldo WOWK, with nearly 40 years of experience in the defense and space sector, was one of the laid-off professionals Mectron. Passing by Embraer and expertise in the French Space Agency (CNES), WOWK said he is disappointed and fears for the future of queainda projects are underway in the space area.
"We lost the technical training that allowed to continue projects like the VLS rocket. The contract of electric rocket networks, which had 70% of its development made by Mectron will be transferred to the Institute of Aeronautics and Space (IAE). He , however, has no staff to complete the work, "he said.
Opto Electronics, of St. Charles, currently in bankruptcy protection, also dismissed their technical teams to reduce from 85 to only 18 the core of engineers and technicians who worked in optronic area (single core in Brazil).
It was with this group that the company developed the high resolution camera of the China-Brazil satellite (considered a milestone for the Brazilian space program) and the missile project A-Darter, made with South Africa. According to the director of research and Opto development, Mario Stefani, 40% of professionals who have left the company were working at universities and 20% are being absorbed by companies and foreign universities.
To form a PhD in optics, according to Stefani, the average time can reach 17 years. Opto Electronics invested including the further training of its professionals in various universities outside Brazil.
"People with senior qualification level move by the challenge. When you do not have perspective are unmotivated" he says. Because they are very qualified, the executive explained, these professionals are rarely unemployed, but the strategic projects of the country end up having no continuity because the teams are dispersed.
One of the leading scientists ahead of the development of space camera Opto, physical Erica Gabriela de Carvalho, 38, is currently professor of physics in high school of a private school in São Paulo and teaches calculus and physics at the University of St. Paulo (USP).
