Author
TATIANA GONDIM DO AMARAL, DÉBORA DE GOIS SANTOS and HUMBERTO RAMOS ROMAN
Doctor postgraduate student of the Postgraduate Program in Civil Engineering, PPGEC/UFSC
Doctot postgraduate student in Production Engineering – UFSC
Professor Assistant of the Federal University of Santa Catarina: Ph.D., Researcher of NPC.

Abstract
A training program has been developed for building construction workers. It aims to provide qualifications for new professionals to enable them to build structural masonry in Florianopolis, Santa Catarina State in Brazil. Based on the Brazilian Quality and Productivity Program of Dwelling (PBQP-H), introduced by the Urban Development Clerkship of the Republic Presidency, the objective was to support Brazilian efforts in modernisation by promoting quality and productivity in the house construction sector.The program is being promoted in Santa Catarina through the Federal Savings Bank (Dwelling Financing Institution) and the Federal University of Santa Catarina. It seeks to achieve an improvement in the quality of structural masonry construction. A systematic training programme was developed with the principal intention of making the attitude of workers more professional. It consists of four phases: diagnosis, programming and planning, execution and evaluation. The concepts were developed in accordance with the SEMEAR method which uses participant teaching-learning techniques, and is based on the principles of the New Teaching. The training proved to be a viable and effective tool to achieve the intended objectives, namely to provide qualified block layer professionals in structural masonry. In addition it greatly improved building site communication, enabling interaction and involvement of workers, and a better understanding by them of site instructions. The training can also be seen as part of a range of strategies requested by companies aimed at changing the patterns of behaviour and attitudes of workers.