Professional Profile Evaluation of the Technology Course in Agribusiness and the One Demanded By Agribusiness Segments.

Brazilian agribusiness represented just over 22 % of the total Gross Domestic Product in the year of 2013, and its economic importance to the country demands professionals with training comparable to the characteristics required by the agro-industrial market. The market has been seeking professionals with new skills and attributes to manage their businesses due to the new global scenario. The concern with the training of professionals in agribusiness is already on the agenda of many educators, businessmen and politicians from various countries. Technology courses provide faster and more focused training. The first Technology course was established in Brazil at the end of the 1960s, and in the year of 1969, Centro Paula Souza – CEETEPS pioneered in the creation of this course in São Paulo State. Currently, there are just 175 Technology Courses in Agribusiness in Brazil. In order to identify the professional profile sought by the Brazilian agribusiness, a study coordinated by Prof. Mario Otávio Batalha from UFSCAR interviewed several companies in various agribusiness segments. Personal qualities, communication and expression, economics and management, quantitative methods, production technology and professional experience, were some of the items evaluated. Personal qualities, communication and expression, and economics and management were the ones who received greater attention; professional experience does not appear as an important prerequisite for companies in the sector. CEETEPS, through Fatecs, offers the Technology Course in Agribusiness in 9 colleges in São Paulo State. It is observed that the courses offered by CEETEPS have a differentiated curriculum matrix so that their graduates can work in agribusiness segments, from which, 43% of the course load is concentrated in the teaching of Economics and Management , and 36% in Basic Sciences. The course generally meets the demand of agribusiness segments.