Cariocas Programmers - Observatory of Public Sector Innovation

Cariocas Programmers (Programadores Cariocas) is an initative developed by the Rio de Janeiro City Hall (Prefeitura da Cidade do Rio de Janeiro) based on a study that found that there is a deficit of 24,000 vacancies per year in the technology sector. Thus, the initiative aims to train and qualify young people from marginalised backgrounds (in particular refugees, black, women and transgender people) in the area of programming.

Innovation Summary

Innovation Overview

Rio de Janeiro's economy is heavily concentrated in the services sector: 85% of Rio's GDP comes from the sector. Over the last few years, Rio de Janeiro has shown slow economic growth, with periods of retraction, a scenario aggravated by the COVID-19 crisis, which strongly impacted the service sector in the face of health restrictions. The consequence of this scenario was the worsening of unemployment, especially among young people and the less qualified: unemployment among young people was 28.3 per cent, almost triple the 10.5 per cent among adults aged 30 and over in the city. The initiative to implement a programme to train programmers is the result of a thorough analysis of the behaviour of employment sectors. Despite the scenario of a drop in economic activity and number of jobs, not all sectors of the economy have suffered during the pandemic. The technology sector, for example, which had already been growing consistently in recent years and had a demand for professionals that exceeded supply, was boosted. A study by the Association of Information and Communication Technology Companies projects that, in the period 2019-2024, the labour deficit in the ICT sector will be 24,000 professionals per year.

In addition to this existing labour deficit, Rio's investment in the creation of a technology hub will increase the demand for programmers in the city. It is worth noting that, in addition to the inclusion of this group in the labour market, there is also the important factor of the quality of this type of employment. On average, starting salaries for young people with secondary education were BRL 2,300 when employed as IT technicians and BRL 4,000 when employed as IT professionals, from January to December 2021. One way to prepare for vacancies in the sector is to take a programming bootcamp, a course with intensive methodology and an average duration of six months. For the most vulnerable young people, such a qualification would represent a considerable increase in their remuneration, capable of changing the lives of their families.

Caraiocas Programmers (Programadores Cariocas) aims to increase the speed with which new programmers graduate. By doing so, it aims to mitigate the labour shortage and generate a positive social impact for the city. The programme will offer: i) an online platform that advertises job vacancies in technology, with information about the courses accepted as a necessary qualification, and information about courses and the financing options they offer; ii) for low-income young people there will be private financing to be carried out by the municipality for these individuals to take courses of proven quality. In this way, Carioca Programmers will train and qualify 5,000 young people in situations of social vulnerability by the year 2024 in the programming area, with priority for Black people, women, refugees and transgender people.

Innovation Description

What Makes Your Project Innovative?

The Carioca Programmers initiative will offers full and partial scholarships to refugees and public school graduates with completed high school who are between 17 and 29 years old. With priority for Black people, women and transgender people, the goal is to train five thousand new programmers by 2024, with an investment of R$ 50 million. In addition to receiving full or partial scholarships, the student also receives financial assistance of R$ 500 for six months and a computer. In the first cycle (2022), the goal was to train 1,200 professionals. Of these, 200 would have received a full scholarship. Those awarded the 50% scholarship will pay the remaining amount after completing the course and, if they do not find a job within five years, the partner institution will assume the cost. All of this places the Carioca Programmers initiative as Brazil's leading technology workforce training programme, with no other initiative of this size and nature.

What is the current status of your innovation?

The first graduation of the first classes of the Programme took place in 2022. The Programme will welcome new students for its next training cycles.

Innovation Development

Collaborations & Partnerships

Senac: one of the main agents of professional education in Brazil, where it maintains infrastructure composed of more than 600 school units, pedagogical companies and mobile units. The partnership, infrastructure and methodology of the institution were essential in the elaboration of the course
Generation: startup that aims to prepare and support people to achieve careers that change their lives
Resília: startup with the objective of training Latin America with the best technology professionals.

Users, Stakeholders & Beneficiaries

Students: In 2022, the Programadores Cariocas classes started between the end of August and September for more than 800 students. With the start of classes, hundreds of young people in Rio are already taking programming classes, receiving the R$500 aid given by the city government and having a computer to study on. During the first weeks of the start of the programme we even received a report from a student who had already been hired by a company.

Innovation Reflections

Results, Outcomes & Impacts

The aim of the Programme is to reduce the labour deficit in the area of technology in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The first cycle saw about 750 young people from all areas of the city participating in the graduation. The goal of the programme is to train five thousand people by 2024.

Challenges and Failures

Connecting these young people to the labour market will be a challenge to be faced by the municipality after completion of the course. Reducing dropout to the lowest possible level will also be an important challenge for the public authorities.

Conditions for Success

Mechanisms to reduce school dropout to the lowest possible level.

Replication

The Carioca Programmers initiative could be an important mechanism to be replicated in other regions of the country that seek to reduce youth unemployment, reduce the deficit in the technology market and qualify the workforce.

Lessons Learned

Importance of face-to-face enrolment to reach part of the most vulnerable population. For this goal, it is also important to implement mechanisms to facilitate the enrolment process. Tools to facilitate contact between students, companies and municipalities are relevant for the success of the project.

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