Team 2-i Members:
Aanchal Saini : https://www.linkedin.com/in/aanchal-saini-3318b337a/
Alexandru Rodideal : https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandru-rodideal/
Christian-Gabriel Dumitru : https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristian-gabriel-dumitru-77818320b/
Rhianna Rooney : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhianna-rooney-b4a774296/
Youth from low-income communities in São Paulo face structural barriers at three critical transitions: from middle to high school, from high school to university, and from university into formal employment. While elementary enrolment remains high, progression drops sharply by high school, and academic performance declines in later years, signalling growing disengagement. Economic instability further disrupts continuity: when households face income shocks, adolescents are more likely to enter the workforce early and less likely to advance in school. A significant share of youth already balance study and work, reflecting persistent financial pressures. Together, these factors create a fragile educational pipeline in which capable students are diverted into informal or precarious employment before fully realising their academic and economic potential.
We propose a three-tier mobility pipeline that strengthens and connects existing initiatives rather than duplicating them. The model integrates early risk detection, mentorship hubs, tech access expansion, performance-based scholarships, and structured corporate internship pathways across three transitions: middle to high school, high school to university, and university to formal employment. By coordinating with programs such as 1MiO, PROA, and municipal outreach systems, and by addressing digital access inequalities that limit opportunity, the pipeline reduces fragmentation and creates continuity of support. The approach combines targeted assistance for vulnerable youth with merit-based advancement and private-sector engagement, transforming isolated interventions into a coherent, longitudinal pathway toward formal employment and upward mobility.
The core assumption made at the beginning of the project implementation process is the fact that the key stakeholder in this situation is the young demographic and that tackling education and peer-pressure as the main causes of the uprise in informal labour is school abandonment and a lack of social competitiveness. Therefore, projecting the general reform proposal onto the educational system and creating informative campaigns inside teaching facilities creates a suitable environment for student improvement and enables students to seek help. Also the talent pipeline proposes the idea that generating value for private investment in the affected areas will rapidly decrease the need for informal labour thus generating social value only if it proves itself as a worth-while time expense for the trainees.
Brazil has made meaningful progress in expanding youth opportunity through programs such as 1MiO, PROA, Busca Ativa Escolar, and Bolsa Família. 1MiO alone has generated over 1.29 million training and employment opportunities, while more than 300,000 students have been re-enrolled through national outreach efforts.
However, structural gaps remain. Secondary completion is not universal, dropout risk increases sharply after middle school, and youth unemployment remains disproportionately high. In 2023, 36.5% of total employment in Brazil was informal, with youth representing 43.9% of informal workers. Digital inequality and transportation barriers further limit access to higher education and formal employment, particularly in low-income districts.