The Challenge

The tech industry is rapidly evolving. 

While new grads are entering the workforce more AI-fluent than ever, what "ready to contribute" looks like from day one has shifted. Applied skills, professional networks, and hands-on experience in real engineering environments – the things that turn strong CS students into strong engineers – remain unevenly distributed.

The Opportunity 

In 2022, Salesforce partnered with CodePath to design Futureforce Tech Launchpad (FTL) — a 10-week, in-person pre-internship program for rising juniors from historically underrepresented backgrounds.

The program combines three core elements:

• Rigorous technical curriculum — Scholars build production-ready full-stack applications in a real engineering environment, developing the skills and professional habits expected of a Salesforce intern from day one

• Real-world work environment — Scholars work on-site at Salesforce, participating in onboarding and office culture alongside the broader intern cohort

• Dedicated mentorship — Every scholar is paired with a Salesforce engineer for weekly 1:1s and group project support throughout the program

How It's Evolved

Each year, CodePath and Salesforce have refined the model based on data and feedback:

• Year 1 (2022): Program launches with a cohort of rising juniors; strong early intern performance establishes proof of concept

• Year 2 (2023): Program scales; curriculum deepens and mentor structure strengthens

• Year 3 (2024): Instructor ratios optimized; scholar NPS climbs to 87; capstone projects begin incorporating AI

• Year 4 (2025): AI-native curriculum introduced and complete a hands-on session building Service Agents using Salesforce's own Agentforce platform; Scholar NPS reaches 100

• Year 5 (2026): CodePath provided further AI integration in partnership with Salesforce's Workforce Innovation Team. This year, scholars will build with tools like Cursor and Claude Code.

4 years. 139 scholars placed. Outcomes improving every year.

Why It Works

FTL succeeds because it solves the pipeline problem at the source.

Rather than filtering for students who already had access to elite institutions, CodePath identifies raw talent, builds real skills, and creates the conditions for those students to thrive. For Salesforce, the return is a consistent pipeline of engineers who are diverse, high-performing, and already acclimated to Salesforce culture before their first day as a full-time employee.

Gemma Quinn, Vice President, Global Futureforce Recruiting: "Our partnership with CodePath on the Futureforce Tech Launchpad is vital to how we champion early talent. Together, we are empowering an inherently AI-native generation of engineers with the real-world experiences they need to drive the next era of innovation."

To learn more about bringing a Technical Immersive Program to your organization, contact CodePath.org