This paper studies the impact of one of the largest apprenticeship programs in the world, the Jovem Aprendiz program in Brazil, on firms hiring decisions. The program aimed to expand job opportunities among young individuals by combining tax incentives and hiring quotas for firms to hire apprentices. However, these incentives do not prevent firms from substituting non-apprentice contracts for apprentice contracts. To assess these effects, we use a staggered differences-in-differences approach that leverages an exogenous threshold for entry into the program. Our results indicate that firms increase the hiring of apprentices after surpassing the threshold. However, this rise is accompanied by a decline in the entry of non-apprentices first-time workers, consistent with the substitution hypothesis.