President Dilma Rouseff said on Wednesday (Jul 2) in Vitória, capital city of Espírito Santo, that Brazil needs to step into the “knowledge economy” phase in order to improve income distribution and reduce social inequality. The statement was made during the graduation ceremony of the students from the National Program for the Access to Technical Education and Employment (“Pronatec”).

Pronatec, created in 2011 by Brazil’s federal government aims to expand the availability of professional and technological training courses in the country. The current stage is expected to offer 8 million openings by 2014. Last month, the second part of the initiative was announced, which will offer 12 million spots, as of 2015.

“Brazil has to enter a new phase, that of applying technology, having top-notch technical professionals, and a more sophisticated work capacity,” Rousseff declared. She went on to argue for the increase in the number of Brazilian in vocational courses and universities abroad with the support of the government. As regards funds for education, Rousseff stated that the Brazil’s pre-salt oil is expected to generate $450 billion, to be invested in the sector in 35 years.