The change in the administration of the municipality of São Paulo in 1989 innovated the management of health services aiming at implementing the Unified Health System (SUS) and using as a fundamental strategy the workers' qualification. Thus, the purpose of this work was to analyze the incorporation of the SUS principles in the programs for the capacitation of nursing auxiliary personnel. Based on the concepts that nurtured the Sanitary Reform and the construction of SUS principles, the methodological framework comprehended interviews with the coordinators of the program. Data analysis enabled authors to recognize that the municipal management policies and practices were committed to SUS guidelines, giving priority to the qualification of health workers who did not have this opportunity and adopting a pedagogy directed to the agents' transformation. The coordinators were motivated to develop the qualification program, recognizing this process as a tool for the SUS implementation. In addition, the coordinators at the regional level understood the technical dimension of this process, isolated from its political dimension.
Unified Health System (SUS); nursing education; nursing human resources; health policy; inservice training