Brazil is experiencing a major challenge in the field of education: more than half of people over 25 have not completed high school — there are almost 70 million Brazilians, according to data from the Pnad (National Household Sample Survey).
Among the delivery men and women registered with iFood, 28% did not complete this stage of school training, according to a survey carried out by the company in 2022. However, in the same survey, the majority of them said they would like to have a high school diploma.
Thinking about how to meet this demand, the iFood launched the My High School Diploma program in December 2021 —an action in line with its commitment to impact 5 million people by encouraging education basic until 2025.
In partnership with Descomplica (specialist in online education), the company started offering scholarships for delivery men and women to prepare for the Encceja (National Examination for Certification of Skills for Young People and Adults) in 2022. This test entitles the certificate of completion (or diploma) of Primary or Secondary Education.
Initially, the program offered 2,000 scholarships for the online preparatory course to take the Encceja. But the initiative was so successful among delivery men and women that it was expanded. Initially, more than 6 thousand people applied to win the scholarship in the first stage of registration for My High School Diploma — the majority (44%) aged between 21 and 29 years old.
In May 2022, iFood expanded the initiative and started to offer, in partnership with Finish Your Studies, scholarship to all delivery men and women who signed up to take Encceja. Result: 5,518 people signed up and began preparing for the test, held on August 28th.
“Having a diploma is important to open up new opportunities, in addition to representing more dignity, increasing self-esteem and making the dream of those who want to take a university course possible,” says Luanna Luna, education manager at iFood. “iFood sees that the diploma restores confidence and interest in this journey of knowledge.”
Motivation to go to college
Among the motivations for taking the test, the delivery drivers mentioned the desire to return to their studies, mainly to go to college and have new possibilities for professional activity. Delivery girl Elaine Zulato, for example, took the opportunity to return to his studies at the age of 55 and finally obtain his degree.
“I always wanted to finish high school to continue my studies and go to college. When the message appeared on the delivery guys' app, I said: 'I'll try'”, he says. Your dream? Go to college. “I really like the area of interior design and nursing. I’m very eclectic,” she says. “It’s a source of pride for me to be at this age and to go back to school.”
Your colleague Marcelo Andrade, aged 48, also resumed his studies to take the Encceja test. He says he studied until “the old sixth grade of primary school” because his parents had difficulty paying for their children's studies. “I want to get my high school diploma to get to higher education,” he explains — his dream is to graduate in Law.
X-ray: My High School Diploma
What it is: scholarships for the 100% online course to prepare for the Encceja test, which provides a certificate of completion of high school
Who can participate: delivery men and women registered on the iFood app, over 18 years old, without high school education
More information: on the website iFood Takes Off
