This article aims to analyze the students' expectations with regard to the vocational training courses provided under the "Projovem Trabalhador" occupational health arch, in Rio de Janeiro, the educational concepts and strategies used in the courses, and the changes that took place in their social situation in the educational, economic, psychosocial and socio-political dimensions. This is a qualitative study that used focus groups and interviews with 58 students of the courses. In the educational dimension, vocational skills received were insufficient and did not prepare students to face the challenges of the labor market. Most continue pursuing courses in order to increase their chances of employment. In the economic dimension, most of the young people remained unemployed, while in psychosocial dimension there was reference to the issues of subjectivity, self-esteem, and improved communications and sociability. Insofar as the socio-political dimension is concerned, the students' biggest gain was in understanding their rights as citizens, but this did not lead them to act in the spaces of society, such as trade unions and social movements. It is concluded that the students' perceptions and the meanings that they attribute to the Program reflect the contradictions of the policy, indicating that young people are not mere passive recipients, rather subjects of rights and protagonists that demand an education that meets their interests.
professional education; Projovem Trabalhador; youth