Dr. Gordon May, President Baltimore City Community College; Belinda Stubblefield, National Site Director, Year Up; and Roland R. Selby, Jr. Executive Director, Year Up Baltimore. (Photo Courtesy of Year Up)
Year Up Baltimore is a one-year workforce training boot camp for young adults looking to improve their futures. Aimed at 18-24-year-olds the program endeavors to create higher education and career pathways for its participants, many of whom have lacked access to the resources that would have placed them on the traditional “college-to-career” path.
Year Up Baltimore is part of Year Up, an organization founded in 2000 by Gerald Chertavian in Boston, Ma. The program has graduates working at companies like JPMorgan, American Express and FaceBook.
Year Up now has 19 locations nationwide with plans to expand in the near future.
Year Up Baltimore is currently operating out of Baltimore City Community College (BCCC). Participants take college courses on the campus and receive college credit in one of two tracks: cyber security or information technology with plans to expand into general business.
Roland Selby, executive director of Baltimore Year Up, told the AFRO, “We did a study in the Baltimore metropolitan area to see which careers were in demand. We were looking for entry level positions within these large corporations and IT is a hot field as well as cyber security, which is a fast-growing field. We have a number of cyber security companies is the Baltimore area as well as a host of subject matter experts in the field. We are looking for the students to be able to learn a skill that’s transferable and allows them an opportunity for growth.”
Selby joined Year Up Baltimore in November of last year after working at IBM. “I found the mission was extremely timely and worthwhile. This type of work is something that has always been in my interest. I’ve worked diligently over the years on helping our young adults in the community and the opportunity presented itself, so I had to take advantage of it.”
Year Up Baltimore looks for students that are hungry for success, determined to succeed and seeking an opportunity to better themselves through one of the fields of focus. As the name implies, it is a yearlong program that gives students the opportunity to earn a stipend based on their performance.
Selby stressed that this “is not a handout, it’s a hand up.” Year Up students sign a contract saying they will be punctual, attend class daily and deliver assignments on time. Selby said, “Employers hire for skill but fire for behavior. So our program is really dedicated to teaching and training our students how to be effective in the workplace and develop leadership skills for future growth.”
After six months of working on skills like conflict resolution, workplace etiquette and how to dress for success in a business environment the students are placed in internships with companies like Johns Hopkins, Laureate, MedStar or CareFirst throughout the metropolitan region.
Year Up seeks a livable wage for its students within these companies starting at $16/hour. Selby says some students have been offered employment at local companies starting at $50,000.00. Currently Year Up works with 30 different companies throughout Baltimore to place its students for internship opportunities. The goal of the program is that all students will either be employed full-time or enrolled at an academic institution full-time at the completion of the Year Up program.
The next Baltimore Year Up is currently taking place and there will be an informational session on April 15 on the campus of Baltimore City Community College.
