Year Up

Year Up
Name	Year Up
Formation	2000
Founders	Samir K. Patel, Gerald Chertavian
Type	Nonprofit organization
Headquarters	Boston, Massachusetts
Region served	United States
Mission	Close the opportunity divide by connecting underserved young adults to professional careers

Year Up Year Up is a U.S.-based nonprofit workforce development organization that provides intensive training, internships, and career support for young adults. Founded in 2000, it operates sites in multiple metropolitan areas and partners with corporations, community colleges, and philanthropic foundations to place participants into technology, finance, and operations roles. The model combines classroom instruction, professional skills training, and corporate internships to accelerate access to mid-level careers.

History

Year Up was founded in 2000 in Boston by Samir K. Patel and Gerald Chertavian following pilot programs influenced by models from Job Corps, Per Scholas, Goodwill Industries International, and initiatives within United Way of Massachusetts Bay. Early expansion involved collaborations with local community colleges and workforce agencies such as Massachusetts Department of Workforce Development and municipal workforce boards. Growth through the 2000s paralleled national workforce reforms influenced by reports from organizations like the Kauffman Foundation, think tanks such as the Brookings Institution and advocacy groups including Jobs for the Future. Philanthropic support from entities like the Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation, and corporate philanthropy from firms such as Goldman Sachs helped scale programs to cities such as New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta, and Seattle. Year Up’s expansion intersected with debates in policy circles including the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and analyses by researchers at Harvard Kennedy School, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Urban Institute.

Programs and Curriculum

Year Up’s model blends technical training, professional development, and corporate internships. Core curricular tracks have included information technology stacks mirrored from vendors like Microsoft, Cisco Systems, and Amazon Web Services, as well as business operations and financial services content aligned with employers such as JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Deloitte. Training modules draw on instructional design practices from Khan Academy-style pedagogy, competency frameworks used by CompTIA, and soft-skills coaching informed by research at Stanford University and University of Pennsylvania programs. The curriculum includes workplace readiness coaching, mentorship resembling models used by Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, and certification prep for exams like CompTIA A+ and Microsoft Certified Professional. Site operations coordinate with community partners including Boys & Girls Clubs of America, local Catholic Charities USA affiliates, and veteran services like Department of Veterans Affairs programs.

Partnerships and Corporate Engagement

Corporate partnerships are central: Year Up secures paid internships and hiring pipelines with Fortune 500 companies such as Google, Microsoft Corporation, Apple Inc., Amazon (company), Facebook, Wells Fargo, PwC, Accenture, and Cisco Systems. Workforce intermediaries and staffing firms like ManpowerGroup and Adecco Group have at times collaborated on placement. Education partners include City University of New York, Boston University, Community College of Philadelphia, and other two-year institutions for credit articulation agreements. Foundation partners and donors have included Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and The Rockefeller Foundation. Year Up’s model has been studied by policy researchers at Columbia University, University of California, Berkeley, and RAND Corporation to assess employer engagement strategies popularized in corporate programs by IBM and Intel Corporation.

Outcomes and Impact

Evaluations by external researchers and institutions such as Harvard Kennedy School’s J-PAL, MDRC, and Public/Private Ventures have measured participant outcomes including placement rates, retention in employment, and earnings gains. Reported metrics show increased access to entry- and mid-level positions at employers like LinkedIn and Dropbox, with some alumni progressing to roles at Salesforce and Adobe Inc.. Year Up has produced alumni networks and chapters connecting graduates to continuing education pathways at institutions like Northeastern University and University of Washington. Impact narratives have been cited in policy debates alongside programs from Teach For America and AmeriCorps about talent pipelines and social mobility.

Funding and Governance

Year Up’s funding mix includes corporate sponsorships, philanthropic grants from organizations such as Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Carnegie Corporation of New York, government contracts, and donor-advised funds at Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Major donors have included finance and tech sector leaders associated with BlackRock, Morgan Stanley, and Google.org. Governance is overseen by a board with leaders drawn from institutions like Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey & Company, Goldman Sachs, and higher education such as Tufts University and Harvard University. Audits and financial reporting align with nonprofit standards promoted by organizations like Independent Sector and regulatory oversight from Internal Revenue Service filings and state charity regulators.

Criticism and Controversies

Year Up has faced scrutiny on topics including selection processes, scalability, and allegations of clustering participants into lower-wage roles despite employer promises. Critics from advocacy groups such as National Skills Coalition and researchers at Economic Policy Institute have questioned comparability to apprenticeship models like those supported by U.S. Department of Labor. Media coverage in outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal has examined outcomes relative to cost-per-participant and post-program wage trajectories. Debates continue with stakeholders including philanthropic funders, corporate partners, and academic evaluators over measuring long-term socioeconomic mobility versus short-term placement metrics.

Category:Non-profit organizations based in the United States