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National initiative expands access to free professional qualification with monthly financial support, focusing on priority audiences and courses aligned with industry demands, in partnership with Senai, with enrollment open for a limited time in different regions of the country.
Petrobras and the S System have opened a new round of the Autonomy and Income Program with 1,540 free vacancies for professional qualification in SENAI units across six states, with enrollment until April 23, 2026.
The initiative provides a monthly scholarship for continued studies and targets residents of areas near the state-owned company’s operations, especially people in situations of socioeconomic vulnerability.
Although the offer gained attention as a package of 2,000 vacancies, the official announcement released by SENAI on April 14 states 1,540 opportunities distributed among Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, and Pernambuco.
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In this phase, the focus is on professional qualification courses, with training aimed at the industry and the oil and gas sector.
Where are the vacancies and who can participate
The announcements for this round have been published for units that serve municipalities around Petrobras’s operations and adopt social priority criteria in the selection process.
Among the prioritized audiences are women, transgender people, indigenous people, quilombolas, black and brown individuals, migrants, refugees, people with disabilities, and candidates without formal employment ties, with a family per capita income of up to half a minimum wage.
In the case of the announcement for Rio de Janeiro, for example, the public call requires a minimum age of 18 years, education compatible with the chosen training, a family per capita income of up to half a minimum wage, and residence in the course offering area or its surroundings.
The other rules vary according to the announcement and the participating unit, making reading the official document an essential step before enrollment.
Industrial courses with high market demand
The training programs opened in this phase have been organized to meet occupations with recurring demand in industrial and operational support segments.
Among the options officially announced are Boilermaking, Scaffolder, Formwork and Shoring, Hydrojet Operator, Industrial Painter, and Signalman Rigger, in addition to other courses that vary according to the state, the unit, and the current announcement.
In the Rio de Janeiro announcement, there are classes for Industrial Machinery Mechanic, Signalman Rigger, and Scaffolder, Formwork and Shoring, with in-person classes and a schedule defined by the SENAI responsible for execution.
The structure also includes Human Development workshops conducted by SESI, with content aimed at strengthening socio-emotional skills associated with employability and course retention.
Monthly scholarship and support for retention
The financial aid, one of the main attractions of the program, is not fixed at R$ 800 for all participants.
In the consulted notices, the regular monthly scholarship is R$ 660, paid to enrolled students who maintain attendance in activities, while women with children up to 11 years and 11 months can receive R$ 858 per month during the training period.
The payment rule is linked to retention in the course and compliance with the minimum attendance required, which reinforces the character of student support and not remuneration.
The notice from Rio de Janeiro states that the scholarship is deposited directly into the participant’s bank account and can be suspended in case of absences incompatible with the program’s rules.
Certification and what the notices say
At the end of the training, the approved participant receives a certificate, provided they meet the pedagogical criteria and the minimum attendance required by the executing institution.
In the official material consulted for this round, certification is linked to SENAI and the course rules, without explicit mention of a technical diploma for all cases or recognition by the MEC as a general characteristic of the entire offer now available.
This point matters because the round announced in April focuses on professional qualification, and not just technical courses.
In the case of the notice opened in Rio de Janeiro, for example, the document states that the certificate will be granted at the end of the course for those who achieve the minimum performance and attendance of at least 75% of the total workload, without using the expression “certificate recognized by the MEC” as a general rule of the notice.
Expansion of the program with technology courses
In parallel to this industrial stage, Petrobras and SENAI launched in March 2026 a new national branch of Autonomy and Income aimed at Information Technology and Telecommunications.
In this front, the expectation is to serve more than 10,000 young people in the initial online stage and select up to 420 students for in-person training in seven states, with a scholarship of R$ 700 for those who reach the in-person phase.
The expansion helps explain the circulation of different numbers about the program on social media and in aggregated headlines, as Autonomy and Income gathers distinct notices, specific publics, and varied modalities.
Still, in the round opened on April 14 for industrial professional qualification, the official number reported by SENAI is 1,540 vacancies, and not 2,000.
How to register for the program courses
Registrations for this stage will be open until 6 PM on April 23, 2026, with the start recorded at 3 PM on April 10 in the consulted notice.
The main access is through the Autonomy and Income Program portal, in the notices section, where the candidate needs to choose the unit, check the income, age, education, and location requirements, fill in the requested data, and then follow the phases of the draw, results, pre-registration, and registration according to the official schedule.
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