Social action review 40. <strong>Tenaris</strong>Confab
Confab seeks to practice corporate social responsibility by means of diverse actions that contemplate the needs of the different publics with which it interacts. To this end, the company is involved in identifying the needs of its employees and the communities in which it operates, as well as emphasizing respect for the environment. By assuming this commitment to social responsibility, whilst at the same time striving to be competitive in an ethical and transparent manner, <strong>Tenaris</strong>Confab is contributing to sustainable social, economic and environmental development, resulting in greater quality of life for all. Human capital - the company's most important value <strong>Tenaris</strong>Confab's present and future development depends on the professional and personal development of its people, the company's most important asset. The quality of the company's products and services is the product of the combination of talents and technologies within a global organizational structure. <strong>Tenaris</strong>Confab's human resources philosophy is based on promoting synergies, team work, flexibility and interchange to meet the current challenges that face any state-of-the-art company and the growing demands of an increasingly competitive marketplace. In <strong>2005</strong>, the company invested R$ 2,708,000 in technical, management, information technology, language and postgraduate courses, a 153% increase over the previous year. A total of 113,000 hours of training were given to employees, resulting in an average of 54 hours per person. The quality of these activities was assured by the high caliber of the institutions with which <strong>Tenaris</strong>Confab established partnerships, such as: the Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Faculdade de Engenharia Industrial (FEI), Instituto de Tecnologia Aeronáutica (ITA), The Welding Institute (TWI), Fundação Dom Cabral (FDC), Fundação Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV) and Stanford University, among others. In <strong>2005</strong>, Confab initiated its second Industrial Technology program in partnership with the Serviço Nacional da Indústria (SENAI). The 1,300 hour long course, which was adapted specifically to meet the needs of the company, is being taken by 21 employees in the industrial production area. In partnership with the Colégio Objetivo, the company continued its primary and secondary education supplementary program, which benefits 128 employees. In addition to providing a first rate course, <strong>Tenaris</strong>Confab pays for the participants' expenses with travel, meals, uniforms and teaching materials. 41. <strong>Annual</strong> <strong>Report</strong> <strong>2005</strong>