Squadra takes young people from vulnerable territories from AI training to their first tech job
Consulting firm offers a technical track that combines theory and practice, with a scholarship and trainee program, integrating part of the young talent into the New Thinkers 2026 program, with a hiring goal at the end of the training.
Nearly a quarter of young Brazilians between 18 and 24 years old neither study nor work. According to the Education at a Glance 2025 report by the OECD, this rate reaches 24%, almost double the average of the organization's member countries. In a scenario where artificial intelligence is redefining the most in-demand skills by the market, the risk of new digital exclusion is added to historical inequality. It is in this context that technical training initiatives as an exit route to employment gain strategic weight.
Squadra Digital, one of Brazil's largest technology consultancies, is taking on part of this challenge. The company will continue the training of young people from the first cohort of COLAI, a program conceived by Microsoft through its global training initiative, and by Gerando Falcões, a social development ecosystem that works to overcome poverty in favelas. For the young people trained by COLAI, Squadra will offer a complementary technical track focused on AI, which will combine theory and practice, accompanied by a scholarship and internship opportunities. At the end of the two-month training, the company will work to ensure the entry of some of these young people into its workforce, through the New Thinkers 2026 program.
The connection between the three organizations completes a chain of impact. Microsoft and Gerando Falcões provide the first contact with programming and innovation to adolescents from peripheral communities. Squadra receives these talents and guides them towards professional insertion. It is the union of basic training, technical deepening, and real employment opportunities, with each link supported by an organization with the scale to generate transformation.
The choice of Squadra as the final bridge is not coincidental. New Thinkers, the company's training and entry program in an immersive bootcamp format, has already proven its ability to transform potential into a career. In four years, the program has mobilized nearly 6,000 people interested in entering the technology field and opened nearly 200 permanent positions at Squadra and companies in its ecosystem, giving professionals without prior experience their first opportunity in the sector. For many, it was the gateway that the market rarely offers.
The reach is national. New Thinkers hires are spread across all regions of Brazil, from São Paulo and Minas Gerais to states in the North and Northeast, bringing technology opportunities to professionals who often would not have access to a first entry point in the sector. More than training, the program promotes geographic diversity and productive inclusion in the IT market.
