Mobilização de competências na atividade informal do vendedor ambulante em praia de Natal (RN)

The central issue of this dissertation is to investigate the labor activity of beach hawker, in order to identify the main professional competencies mobilized in this activity, traversed by both the precariousness of the means of labor exercise, as for complex and structured routines. In the town of Natal (RN) the beaches serve as workplace for thousands of informal workers, who use various professional skills, translated into the ability to mobilize and articulate knowledge, skills and behaviors to solve problems in concrete work situations. This research therefore had as main objective to investigate the work of beach hawkers, trying to identify the core competencies mobilized for facing demands and obstacles in such a context. The beach of Ponta Negra (Natal-RN) was chosen as field of observation, in which a group of hawkers took part as voluntary subjects. Methodologically, quantitative and qualitative methods of production and analysis of data were combined in three stages. In the quantitative phase an occupational questionnaire was applied to a sample of 60 subjects, generating a set of data analyzed with quantitative univariate and multidimensional descriptive statistical tools, complemented by inferential statistical analysis. The results of this phase indicate a predominance of men sellers with salary varying in a range from one to two minimum wage Brazilian salary, age and education quite heterogeneous, extended working hours and the choice of only this activity and this beach throughout the year. Concurrently with this step of analysis, unsystematic observations of the activity of vendors were held and then driven to the technique of Instruction Impersonator with four chosen subjects. This phase had a clinicalinterpretive analysis, rooted in historical-cultural Vygotskian psychological perspective and in the french approach of skills and abilities. The main results point to several strategies for overcoming obstacles, use of technics anchored in everyday work experience and practical knowledge, building rules of conduct and collective mobilization of diverse professional skills similar to those found in formal work, such as business and time management, use of communicative tools, flexibility in problem solving, creativity and teamwork competence. We conclude that informality investigated in context can not be seen exclusively as a synonym of precariousness. It also covers skills and knowledge in a complex culture that situates informal labor in a complementary way with respect to formal work. This conclusion, therefore, contributes to overcome the notion of antinomy between formal and informal labor activity, since they both can be considered as a way to achieve job satisfaction, and even a personal representation of well done job, which is an important psychological generator of identity and social place.