Participant highlighted the most important training for Halal auditors working in Brazil

FAMBRAS Halal's quality manager, Elaine Franco de Carvalho, brought an important reflection to CTec Halal: what training do Halal auditors working in Brazil consider most important? She delved into this topic over the course of a year while completing her MBA in Human Resources Management at USP-Esalq. Below, Elaine shares more about her work.

Elaine, what led you to choose this theme for your work? What was your intention with it?

Currently, all standards related to Halal certification, regarding auditor profiles, are international and established by Muslim-majority countries. Therefore, I would like to compare and understand whether Brazil's training needs would be the same, considering that it is a Muslim-majority country.

Thus, with this result, it would also be possible to create an effective training program with the profile of Halal auditors in Brazil.

The work required research. Can you tell us how this process came about?

The work was developed over the course of a year. Theoretical research was conducted to provide a foundation for training and Halal. Subsequently, I conducted surveys with Brazilian auditors on their perceptions of the training. Finally, the data were analyzed, comparing theory with the results obtained. This led to a proposal for developing an effective training program tailored to the profile of Brazilian Halal auditors.

Your research revealed which trainings respondents consider most important, with the top three being Religious Training; Halal Concepts and Standards Training; and tied for Audit Training (score of 74.2) and Product Safety Training (score of 74.2). Did anything surprise you?

Not really, because I already expected that, given Brazil's Muslim minority status, religious training would be paramount. And knowledge of Halal standards is also extremely important. I confess I was pleased to note that auditors share this perception, as there are several discrepancies between Halal standards that auditors need to be aware of to guide them in their daily work.

The topic of product safety is already part of the academic background of technical auditors, since, to be a Halal auditor, you need to have higher education in the field of activity, thus justifying the third place.

Did the survey reveal what auditors feel is missing? Or areas for improvement that Halal certification bodies operating in Brazil should consider?

In fact, I would say that the work is an indication of how Halal certification bodies in Brazil should establish their training programs, that is, which training needs to be carried out more frequently - for example, religion - and which can be more spaced out, such as management system standards.

Having an effective training program that is compatible with the company's reality is fundamental for its market positioning, development and even customer satisfaction, in this case, their perception of the Halal audit service provided.

Elaine, you're a Halal professional working in a more technical field. What advice would you give to professionals who also want to work in this market?

I'd say it's a surprising and little-known market in Brazil. I encourage everyone to seek out more information about the Halal concept and the market, and to apply this information to their companies.

Brazil is currently the world's largest exporter of Halal food, and only a few companies participate in this market. Therefore, if this concept becomes more widespread and other companies convince their industries to also join the Halal sector, the impact would be even greater!

Why did you decide to bring this topic to CTec Halal? What is your assessment of the event?

Because the conference was about discussing scientific work on Halal, and since I had already developed it, I took the opportunity to present it. I really enjoyed the event and am already thinking about my next project for 2025!

Is there anything else you would like to add?

People are an organization's most important asset, so investing in human capital is always the best option for those who want to stand out and succeed in the market.