Year UpPresented to the World Bank

June 26, 2013Ronda Harris Thompson, Executive Director

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Year Up's mission is to close the Opportunity Divide by providing young adults from urban communities with the skills, experience, and support that will empower them to reach their potential through professional careers and higher education.

We achieve this mission through a high support, high expectation model that combines marketable job skills, stipends, internships and college credits.

Who We Are: Our Mission

Intensive one-year program that provides technical and professional skills, paid corporate internships and college credit to urban young adults ages 18-24

Program:

Mission:

Model:

Aquila Evans Class 3

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San Francisco

Who We Are: A National Movement

• Founded in 2000 in Boston• National presence serving 11 sites• Currently serving 1,900+ students annually• 250+ corporate partners

Puget Sound

Chicago

Atlanta

New York

National Capital Region

ProvidenceBoston

Baltimore

Miami

San Jose

44

MA

75,000OH

187,000

NY

316,000

CA 683,000

IL 190,000

TX

480,000

GA

208,000

WA

111,000

FL

331,000

PA183,000

Most of the 5.2 million disconnected young adults live in urban areas in 12 states

MI 175,000

NC162,000AZ

138,000

MD

81,000

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Computer applications: Microsoft Office, operating

systems & the internet

CISCO: IT Essentials Hardware

networkingHelpdesk /

desktop support

Business Communications

Advising & Mentoring

Professional Skills

Phase I:Learning & Development

Months 1-6

High expectations•6 months of intensive and practical training in: technology; business communication; and professional skills

•In partnership with the Northern Virginia Community College, Year Up students earn up to 18 college credits

Program: The First Six Months

High support •Students have access to Year Up

social workers and staff advisors•Professional mentors provide

support and guidance

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Advising & mentoring

On-going support & training at Year Up

(Wednesday afternoons)

Phase II: Internship

Months 7-12

IT/

Help Desk

DesktopSupport

Business Ops

Customer

Service

HR

Project Man.

Internships

Program: The Second Six Months

High expectations•Interns are placed in a 26-week internship at corporate partners throughout the National Capital Region

•Interns work 36 hours in role adding value to corporate partners

High support •Year Up continues to offer

support through social workers and staff advisors

•Interns return to Year Up for 3 hours of weekly professional development

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Desktop Support• PC Network Specialist• A/V Support Technician• PC/ LAN Analyst • Security Administrator Unix Support• Remote Access, Wireless & Email

Analyst• Business Systems Consultant

Year Up has placed its interns into the following roles:

Project Management• Project Analyst• Junior Support Analyst• Web Team Support• Business Analyst

General IT Support• Data Center Technician• Data Management Reporting• Default Data Entry Clerk• Hardware Planning• HR Support• Sharepoint Project Intern• Information Security Analyst• NOC Analyst

Program: Year Up Interns Fill the Following Roles

Tazo Stuart-Riascos Class 1

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Program: National & Local Corporate Partners

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There are innovative ways to tackle the skills gap to promote economic prosperity and justice

“The good news is that there are recently developed programs – tailored work based training programs – that recognize the importance of soft skills…The evaluations on those programs show that they are very effective.”

James Heckman, Economist and Nobel Laureate at the 2011 Clinton Global Initiative

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Year Up’s first-ever national alumni survey has officially closed with a 61% response rate

• Survey sent to 2,105 alums from classes of July 2002 – January 2011

• Reached our goal with a 61% response rate (1,283 alumni)

• Asked questions to learn how alums are doing across multiple

dimensions

• Goal is to use this data to inform and improve our:

o One-year program (first and foremost)

o Work with alumni

o Influence strategy

• Analysis shared here is first summary report of the largest alumni

data set that Year Up has ever had. Even more to come this summer.

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Year Up alumni are faring well despite this challenging labor market

Current average wage by graduating class for employed alumni

Averag

e ho

urly earn

ing

s

Graduating Class

As expected, the longer alumni have been out of Year Up, the more they’re earning

*Notes: (1) 1,283 alumni provided data for employment and education categories, though only 908 provided current income data so the % of alums figure is based on all 1,283 respondents, while the Average hourly earning figure is based on the 908 respondents who provided that information

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The overall snapshot of alumni outcomes confirms Year Up’s track record of strong results

FT job + pursuit of education

FT job, no further education

PT job + pursuit of education

PT job, no further education

$19.46

$17.73

$12.59

$11.74

$18.78(FT job avg.)

$12.25(PT job avg.)

$17.77(all jobs avg.)

38%

26%

7%

5%

Not employed, pursuing FT ed 7%

Not employed, pursuing PT ed 5%

Unemployed, no further education 13%

N/A

Where are they now? % of alums Average hourly earnings

*Notes: (1) 1,283 alumni provided data for employment and education categories, though only 908 provided current income data so the % of alums figure is based on all 1,283 respondents, while the Average hourly earning figure is based on the 908 respondents who provided that information(2) From Chasing the American Dream: Recent College Graduates and the Great Recession, May 2012 report of national survey: http://www.heldrichpodcasts.com/Chasing_American_Dream_Report.pdf(3) The 13.2% young adult employment from 4/12 BLS statistics .(http://www.policyshop.net/home/2012/5/7/april-young-adult-employment-situation-summary.html)

• Strong earnings – The average wage outpaces the $28,000 average wage of recent college graduates surveyed nationally.

• Average unemployment rate – Unemployment of 13% matches overall young adult unemployment, which currently stands at 13.2% nationally.

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The data also shows a need to refocus on helping more graduates secure full-time jobs

First Job Type by Graduation Year*

• Alumni in full-time jobs earn far more than those in part-time jobs. This difference holds true across nearly every class.

• At the same time, we are seeing that full-time employment is less common among recent graduating classes.

Current Average Wage by Employment Type

*Note: This data represents the FT/PT breakdown for the 88% of alumni who reported having a job since graduating from Year Up

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And the data highlights the importance of focusing on jobs related to Year Up’s training

315 alumni (25%) reported earning $20/hour or more… …and here is what they do (current job titles):

*Note: Above graphic created using Wordle.net and the 315 job titles given by students earning $20/hour or more. Titles for two outlying wages were removed because two alumni reported earning more than $150/hour in part-time roles with very limited hours.

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Alumni who are employed in well-paying jobs report better social/emotional outcomes

• The following alumni groups are more likely than their counterparts to say they “became more comfortable in a professional environment”, “have more confidence”, “have a more positive attitude”, and are “better at asking for help” because of their time at Year Up:

– Those currently employed

– Those employed full-time

– Those earning at least $12/hour... [being a Year Up alum] means a lot because at work I have met some people that found out [I came from Year Up]. Just recently a guy came up to me... And I was telling him [about Year Up]. He was just amazed that they offer something to someone so young, that you were able to get your foot in the door. He actually made my week. It was funny. He was just sitting there, like, proud of me... He was just amazed to see somebody like me actually being in there, a young black kid in that environment.

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Alumni who are employed are more likely to stay connected to Year Up and our movement

• Alumni who are currently employed are more likely to have visited since graduation, while alumni who are not employed are more likely to say they are “not at all involved” with Year Up

• The following alumni groups are more likely to have referred someone to Year Up and significantly more likely to recommend Year Up in general:

– Those currently employed

– Those employed full-time

– Those earning at least $12/hour

– Those who have never experienced unemploymentYear Up has been the best thing to ever happen to me in my life. I am forever grateful. I speak SO highly of Year Up and will continue to recommend it to any 18-24 year old I cross paths with.

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Getting alumni into well-paying jobs improves their ability to pay for post-secondary education

• 57% of alumni list “paying for education” as a major challenge in getting to the next step in their education.

• Alumni who are not employed are more likely to list “paying for education” as a major challenge

• Those currently employed and earning at least $12/hour are more likely to have paid for certification training using grants, scholarships or tuition reimbursement from their employer, while alumni who are not employed are more likely to have paid for their certification training with loans.

Since I don't have a job it's going to be tough to continue through school at the pace that I'd like, but once I find a job I’m going to be focusing all the pay on paying for classes. They say you can't put a price on an good education, but apparently colleges sure can.

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The post-secondary education results show that earning degrees and credentials takes time

For young adults in this country, higher education results are abysmal. According to recent reports: “…four-year colleges graduate only about 40% of the students who start them, and two-year community colleges graduate less than that, about 23%.”* Results for low-income young adults and young adults of color are far worse.

Amid this context, Year Up alumni are taking time to earn degrees and credentials, but most are moving ahead in the right direction:

• 67% of alumni have pursued further education since graduation

• 9% have earned a post-secondary credential:• 2% Associate Degrees

• 3% Bachelor’s Degrees

• 4% one or more certifications

• 45% are currently enrolled in a post-secondary school or training:• 16% in Associate Degree programs

• 16% in Bachelor’s Degree programs

• 13% in a training or certificate programs*Source: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2113794,00.html#ixzz1voaTnMPN

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Our role in higher education needs to be clear in order to best support our students and alums

As our young adults begin their careers and confront the complex landscape of post-secondary education, there is a clear role that we can play to help prepare them to navigate that landscape:

1. Create the mindset - Help every Year Up student understand the value and importance of further education and see it as a “must.”

2. Lay out clear, affordable pathways – Show alumni exactly how the credits they earn at Year Up can be applied toward stackable credentials at an affordable, local educational partner

3. Develop individualized plans – Help every student develop a clear “What? When? Where? How?” plan around the continuation of his/her education. Having a clear plan makes it much more likely that someone will achieve a goal.

4. Set them up to earn so they can learn – Get alumni into well-paying jobs, enabling them to afford higher education. Finances are a significant barrier to post-secondary education.

What motivates me?

Just that like, nobody’s going to do it for me. If I don’t go to school, I’m not going to get my degree. Just it needs to be done.