Created 24 years ago, the IOS – Social Opportunity Institute aims to offer free professional training in the areas of Technology and Administration, supporting the employability of young people and people with disabilities. IOS is maintained by private companies such as TOTVS – its founder and main maintainer.
Kelly Lopes, social entrepreneur, Third Sector management specialist and IOS superintendent, explains that the organization seeks to “act as an agent of transformation and positive impact, enabling its network of partners to add value to society🇧🇷 The institute has trained more than 42,000 new professionals for the job market in its history, with around 70% already employed. It has units in São Paulo (SP), Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Belo Horizonte (MG), Porto Alegre (RS), Joinville (SC) and Recife (PE).
Currently, IOS is a partner of ABES in HR TECH Platform, an initiative that helps professionals acquire new technical and behavioral skills, in addition to encouraging young people to seek job opportunities in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) market and discuss trends about the future of work.
The ABES Portal team interviewed Kelly Lopes about the IOS activities, courses and goals for 2023. Check it out below!
– What is the purpose of the IOS?
Our purpose is to awaken the potential of lives and citizen awareness and with the mission to co-create opportunities for employability and income generation for young people, through free professional training in technology. We want to be the natural choice of our stakeholders, through talent training and productive inclusion, and to be a transformation agent based on integrity, ethics, respect, dedication, pursuit of knowledge and team spirit.
What courses are offered and how can young people participate?
The courses are completely free and include administrative concepts with practical classes in management software, Portuguese, Mathematics, Employability, Citizenship and Behavior (Soft Skills). It also brings concepts and practices of corporate experience, which teach the student to prepare emails, presentations, participate in meetings, have a business vision and even develop a product briefing. (see the courses in the table below).
How do you evaluate the level of employability of young people who graduated from IOS?
For graduated students, IOS has the Opportunities Program, which for three years looks for job openings, mainly among the institution's partner companies. In addition, we also look for vacancies for university education in partner institutions of the organization. Of the total number of students graduated per year, around 70% got their first job, increasing their families' income by up to 54%.
How do you conduct these employability-focused activities?
The IOS teams that act directly on the employability of former students carry out actions on several fronts. We have professionals dedicated to seeking out opportunities for our students at companies located in the neighborhoods closest to the IOS service units and at our partner companies. In 2021, we achieved the best employability result in history: 1,410 students entered the world of work, 73% more than in 2020.
Who are your main institutional partners?
The IOS is maintained by private companies such as TOTVS – its founder and main maintainer – Dell, Microsoft and Zendesk. Joining this group are companies that make donations via Tax Incentive, such as Arcos Dorados, BASF, Banco IRB, Brasilprev, Cielo, CTG, Clear Corretora, Hyundai, IBM, Instituto Center Norte, Isa CTEEP, Mattos Filho, Mercado Livre, Vale, among others.
What are the IOS goals for 2023?
We have several goals for IOS for 2023, including: developing an Integrated Communication Plan with online and offline actions, digital media and integration with IOS channels; articulate the creation of networks in order to obtain 100% occupation of IOS classrooms; support the employability of at least 70% of young people trained between 2020 and 2022 at IOS; define a strategy to support the employability of underage youth; and to develop an expansion program in Brazil, increasing the number of young people benefited in other locations.
What are the main learnings ahead of the IOS?
In view of all the experience we have had in more than two decades training young people for the job market, especially in the area of Technology, we can say that alliances between the public and private sectors, and between social organizations and the market, are crucial to move towards the reduction of social inequalities. We also concluded that professional training and income generation for the young population can be considered key to the resumption of socioeconomic development in a broader sense in Brazil. The country's progress involves investments, from all sectors, in training, qualification and the offer of opportunities created for young people.
GET TO KNOW THE COURSES OFFERED BY IOS – INSTITUTO DA OPORTUNIDADE SOCIAL
- Business management - train professionals to work in administrative areas.
- Assembly and maintenance of computers - trains professionals to work in the assembly of computers, according to the profile desired by the client and in the search for software and hardware solutions for possible problems. The course encourages entrepreneurship.
- Digital Fluency – trains professionals able to develop tasks that use information technology as the main tool, as well as having knowledge of agile methodologies and their applications.
- Web development - trains professionals able to develop websites, having full conditions to learn new languages and develop even more in the profession.
- Technology and Digital Culture - trains professionals to work with programming, use of software, communication and artistic expressions.
- Are 80 vacancies at the São Paulo units (Santana and Jd. Ângela).
IT for work – trains professionals for the administrative area, with knowledge in productivity applications. In the course, students learn to use applications for mobile devices, software for computers and essential management concepts for the day-to-day of a company, whether as a collaborator or as an entrepreneur.
Visit the website of IOS.
EN 
PT 
