Case
Hiring as locally as possible
Mar 14, 2022
During the construction of Ouro Branco, a wind project that will consist of 16 turbines (72 MW), European Energy is taking steps to ensure that the construction jobs benefit the economy of the local region.
The state of Pernambuco, where European Energy is building Ouro Branco, is the leader in unemployment rates in Brazil. According to IBGE (Brazilian Statistics Institute), in Q3 2021 the unemployment rate in Pernambuco was at 19.3% compared to 12.6% in the whole of Brazil.
To help alleviate local unemployment, European Energy is taking several initiatives during the construction of the Ouro Branco park. Hiring as locally as possible is a contractual obligation in the major agreements signed and we have worked closely with the subcontractors to ensure that this is put in practice.
A simple, but very significant initiative was to place a physical box at the site entrance, where candidates could deliver their resumes. This was done because not everyone in the region has access to internet and this small initiative made job applications more accessible for locals. More than 450 resumes were received in the physical box in the first 5 months of construction.
Of the 283 employees working for European Energy’s subcontractors in Brazil, 163 employees are from Pernambuco and a total of 254 employees