At a Glance
Location: Rio de Janeiro, RJ
Impact Areas: Labor Inclusion, Training
People Supported:
Youth, Urban
Joined NESsT Portfolio:
2018
Overview
The social enterprise trains youth from low-income backgrounds, 25% of whom were previously incarcerated, for positions in high-growth industries.
CIEDS leverages the legal requirement of the Lei de Apprendiz, “Law of Apprentices”, which requires all companies in Brazil to hire apprentices for at least one year and ensure that youth from disadvantaged backgrounds are trained in order to succeed in the job market.
CIEDS was seeded by a nonprofit organization with 20+ years of experience working closely with at-risk youth, supporting them in the school-to-work transition and preparing them to secure employment. The apprenticeship program leverages the organization’s eight years of knowledge, methodologies, networks and reputation.
Results & Impact
1,912
youth trained for employment
1,120
youth receiving job placements in the labor market
82%
of graduates are still employed with contracts after
one year
“We want to build an education program for the workplace that celebrates the inherent skills of young people.”
NESsT Investment
NESsT and CIEDS partnered to offer skills training and placement of at-risk youth as apprentices with companies in Rio de Janeiro. The focus of NESsT’s investment is on supporting the enterprise with creating a curriculum that is scalable, digitally enabled, and relevant to the hiring needs of the private sector. NESsT will also support CIEDS to consolidate its business model by developing organizational systems and a marketing strategy to expand its services to more corporate clients.
Based on NESsT’s research of the highest-growing industries in Brazil, CIEDS has plans to expand into new industries, such as tech and e-commerce, in order to ensure that low-income youth and women are accessing resilient careers.
NESsT is supporting CIEDs to work closely with corporations in these industries to involve them in the development of the enterprise’s curriculum so that they can best prepare talent for employment in their companies, and as part of their DEI strategies.
As the Brazilian Congress moves towards enforcing the Apprentice Law and setting a minimum standard for professional practices, CIEDS will ensure that apprentices are well-trained and able to build strong relationships with future employers.
These plans remain unchanged in light of COVID-19. In fact, the pandemic is accelerating their move towards a digital platform. NESsT is helping CIEDs to make this pivot as quickly and effectively as possible.