Year Up, an innovative technology training program, prepares and places low-income, urban young adults in entry-level IT jobs while also preparing them for college. The program targets recent high school graduates and GED recipients between the ages of 18 and 24 who are either unemployed or trapped in dead-end jobs. It provides them with an intensive year of technical, professional, and business communications training. It also provides an internship experience, college credit, and a high degree of personal and academic support. The program graduates 500 students per year in Boston, Cambridge, MA, and Providence, RI, and is raising $18 million to expand into four more cities.

Several features of Year Up appear to account for its success.

First, students receive technical training that is customized to the needs of Year Up’s corporate customers, along with professional skills emphasized by all employers. Program staff work closely with these clients to stay current with their latest IT needs and adjust the training accordingly. In additional to technical skills, the training curriculum places a strong emphasis on professional (“soft”) skills, which include personal and project management, teamwork, conflict resolution, business writing and communication, email, and learning-to-learn.

During the first six months, students receive intensive, full-time training on both technical and professional skills, and they receive a $6 an hour stipend tied to a signed contract. The contract is a behavioral tool that reinforces their contractual obligation to come to class on time and perform at a high professional level at all times. The contract is also integrated with a feedback process that teaches students how to effectively give and receive feedback in the workplace.

The six-month training is in preparation for Year Up’s most critical feature: the six-month paid internship. This experience makes Year Up graduates competitive in the job market despite their lack of a college degree or professional work experience. The program places interns in more than 40 leading companies, such as State Street Corporation, Partners HealthCare, and Putnam Investments. The fact that Year Up charges employers for its interns serves as an important quality control: employers will only pay the fees if they receive candidates who can perform well. Interns are supported by a supervisor throughout the experience and return to Year Up weekly for support throughout the internship.

Year Up provides students with numerous resources to support their transitions to careers and higher education. All staff members act as advisors, meeting with students weekly to advise them on professional and personal issues. In addition, each student is assigned a mentor from the business community to further support their professional development. Tutors offer additional support.

Year Up students earn up to 18 college credits through the program. The Year Up curriculum and its instructors are approved for college credit at Cambridge College, a private, four-year college whose mission is to help working adults continue their education by building on a lifetime of learning. Year Up students are considered to be dually enrolled and receive credits from Cambridge College for the classes they take at Year Up, including the internship.

Sites and Expansion

Year Up operates sites in Greater Boston and Providence; a Washington, DC, site will begin classes in early 2006. Year Up plans to expand to New York City in the next year, with the goal of serving a total of 450 urban young adults annually by 2007.

In 2006, Year Up will test a second area of study, covering financial services. Topics will include finance principles and terminology, mutual funds, 401K programs, and customer service skills. The curriculum is being developed in conjunction with Putnam Investments and other financial services firms. This will prepare students for entry-level positions in financial services. Year Up is also exploring a health care specialization.

Ultimately, Year Up’s goal is to create and implement a replication model that allows it to effectively serve tens of thousands of urban young adults across the country.

Outcomes

Since its inception, Year Up has trained and placed 215 young adults in Greater Boston. It is on a steep growth trajectory, currently serving more than 200 students in 2005 in Boston, Cambridge, and Providence. The program has achieved a high graduation rate: about 83 percent of the students who have enrolled successfully completed Year Up’s demanding one-year program.

Despite the sharp downturn in the information technology job market, Year Up has secured six-month internships for its students in entry-level IT positions (e.g., desktop/help desk support). Year Up has placed 87 percent of students who completed the program in full or part-time work, with an average wage of $14.71 per hour. In contrast, other Latino and African-American high school graduates in Boston who did not attend college but are employed earned an inflation-adjusted wage of $9.30 per hour.

More than 60 percent of Year Up graduates apply to and are accepted by colleges, and 44 percent currently attend college. Year Up expects college graduation rates over the long term to significantly exceed those of their low-income counterparts. Thus far, Year Up has ensured that all students applying for college are accepted by a two- or four-year college. Year Up graduates attend a variety of institutions, including Cambridge College, the University of Massachusetts, Northeastern University, and various other state and community colleges. Of the graduates attending college, more than 90 percent have continued year to year. Year Up expects its first graduate to earn a Bachelor’s degree in 2006.

Financing

Year Up’s 2005 operating budget is $5.5 million, including capital to open and grow new sites. The full operating cost per student is roughly $24,000 a year, with the training stipend comprising about 35 percent of that amount. The remaining 65 percent covers the per-student cost of the classroom training, support services, and tuition for college credit classes.

The per-student costs are financed by a diverse fundraising base of internship revenue; donations from foundations, corporations, and individuals; and public funds, including Pell Grants. Companies pay Year Up a fee of $685 to $785 a week for the interns. Internship revenue averages about $15,000 per student (excluding attrition), covering a substantial portion of the training cost per student. Private donations cover the remaining expenses.

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