Brazil’s Logistics School: A year of resilience

As we celebrate the opening of our new platform in Nova Santa Rita, in the south of Brazil, let’s look back on how our Brazilian colleagues have demonstrated their adaptability over the last year in order to maintain our social involvement with FM Foundation.

The mission of this socio-professional training programme is to support young people from socially vulnerable backgrounds living near the platforms in beginning their professional path. The Logistics School was designed through a strategic partnership with the Pescar Foundation, a social welfare institution that offers socio-professional training throughout Brazil. Together, we are aiming to provide these teenagers and young adults with opportunities for personal and professional development (citizenship, training, job preparation) while working to strengthen family and community ties.

The programme, accredited by the Brazilian Ministry of Labor, is structured around three components (personal, civic and professional) to offer comprehensive and balanced training. This is made possible thanks to the essential involvement of our Brazilian teams, who have already contributed around 960 hours of skills-based volunteering.

Since 2018, the Logistics School has enabled more than 100 young graduates to open up new career opportunities. 

The floods in Canoas in May 2024 revealed the true strength of this partnership. The priority quickly shifted from training to emergency aid and stability for the young beneficiaries. Financial aid was mobilised: €12,000 was drawn from the Foundation’s emergency funds to be paid directly to the young people. This money not only enabled them to continue their education, but also helped them to refurnish and restore their damaged homes.

Following these floods, changes had to be made to the organisation of the Logistics School. Before the floods, the young people’s training took place at both Canoas and São Paulo sites over a period of one year. Now, the São Paulo site has been reorganised to accommodate both sessions, with 10 students every six months, ensuring the certification of around 20 new graduates per year and thus guaranteeing the continuity and expansion of the project despite the emergency. 

The first graduating class of 2025, which received their diplomas last July, is particularly important to our school. It symbolises the resilience and adaptability of the programme in the face of the major challenges encountered in Brazil.

The impact of this graduating class goes far beyond simple professional certification. Upon graduation, these students are encouraged to give back to their neighbours. The young people trained become agents of change themselves by organising courses and information sessions for the local community. By passing on the knowledge they have acquired in logistics and cross-disciplinary skills, they not only consolidate their own learning, but also inspire and prepare other members of their neighbourhood to enter the job market, thus creating a virtuous circle of learning and solidarity.

Congratulations to our Brazilian colleagues for their involvement and resilience. We wish them a successful launch of the new platform in Nova Santa Rita, and hope that the Logistics School solidarity chain will soon extend to this new location.