Others include Per Scholas and Project Quest but Year Up is the largest, serving about 4,000 students a year at various locations nationwide, as reported by The New York Times in September 2022.

Moreover, three-quarters of Year Up’s students, ranging in age between 18 and 29, are Latino and African American, amounting to 42% Black, 33% Latino, 11% Asian, 6% White, and 5% Bi-racial.

JPMorgan Chase, for example, brought in over 300 Year Up students for internships last year. Other leading companies that hire Year Up graduates include American Express, Meta (formerly Facebook), Vertex, United Airlines, and LinkedIn.

These students learn technical skills as well as “soft skills” like communication and teamwork. About 70% of Year Up’s students graduate, and the average starting salary for graduates is $52,000 in most areas, which enables them to be part of the middle class.

But who is eligible and how does it work? Hispanic Outlook interviewed Stanley Taylor, Year Up’s senior director of partnerships, based in New York City, to answer these questions.

“Year Up wants to connect young adults who have all the potential in the world with the necessary resources, skills and experience to help them launch their career in the areas of business, finance and technology,” explains New York City-based Taylor, who has been with the organization for seven years.

It appeals mostly to minority students who are often marginalized. “We help them make great connections, which is what we do beyond skills training. Year Up creates an environment where they are safe, valued and empowered to become professionals,” Taylor notes.

Though it is mostly associated with training people in technology and software careers, Taylor stresses that it also develops careers “in business departments. The organization is working to level the playing field for economic justice and mobility. Our founder Gerald Chertavian says it shouldn’t matter what family they come from, or their zip code; we want to overcome barriers connected to opportunity,” Taylor notes.

Eligible students for Year Up’s program must be high school graduates or have earned their Graduate Equivalency Diploma (GED) and can be enrolled in college. Year Up is a national program that serves over 20 markets across many U.S. cities and has partnerships with over 35 college campuses. Students are expected to reside in proximity to these locations so they can attend in person. It also does not offer any housing options, though its Student Services team can provide assistance. Students are guaranteed a corporate internship.

“Some of our students have no interest in college, and some are enrolled in college,” Taylor states. For its college students, Year Up offers supportive services that coordinate fitting its classes and their internship into their college work. Year Up has partnerships with specific colleges in certain states across the U.S. and has expanded its connections in the New York and New Jersey areas.

For example, “Year Up can and often has stepped in to support a young adult if there’s financial need,” Taylor notes.

The program lasts a year, with six months focused on course work and six months on the internship. During the program, students receive an educational stipend of up to $200 a month for six months and $600 a month during their internship. After they complete it, they are considered alumni and can take advantage of supportive services and career growth resources.

“Year Up is a program that runs five days a week, where the organization provides skill  and technical training for certain tracks. It’s built around a high expectation, high support model,” says Taylor, a graduate of Emory University in Atlanta.

Asked which students are right for Year Up, Taylor replies, “No one factor determines admission. We do a holistic review, including whether an individual has demonstrated experience in one of the areas, a desire to launch their career, and someone willing to work hard and be dedicated. Those individuals will be successful in the Year Up program.”

Taylor describes a typical day as starting with a Monday morning kick-off meeting, where students are organized in a cohort of 40 students. Each day has a theme revolving around topics such as communication, professionalism, or self-awareness. Then students attend a course on communication, including enhancing their elevator speech or navigating office politics and then into specific track training covering software development or coding. Some students then return to campuses to take classes and might return for an afternoon Year Up course.

“It is a demanding schedule, but we build in breaks for lunch and rest,” Taylor notes.

Year Up matches the students with the internship based on the student’s interests, survey responses, goals and the company’s needs. “The internship is one of the most important experiences at Year Up. It demonstrates the value they add to the company, applying the skills they’ve learned. They’re also learning how to network and how individuals at the company obtained their job. It gives them exposure to help launch their career,” Taylor states.

“We want this to be a talent solution. We’re looking for opportunities to convert the internship to full-time employment,” he says. “If they don’t convert, we work with them to connect with other opportunities looking for talent,” he adds.

Graduates are eligible for a variety of technical roles, including careers in Cloud Development, Mobile App Development, Software Project Management, Production Support, Web Development, and UX Design & Development. Other graduates are hired in Helpdesk/Desktop Support, Customer Service, Cyber Security, Data Analytics, and Quality Assurance.

Nationally, 80% of its students earn a job or are enrolled in post-secondary education within four months of completing their year-long training. About 70% graduate from the program, and Taylor says a variety of factors contribute to students not graduating, including dropping out to support family immediately, deciding it’s not right for them, or finding that these industries aren’t a good fit. Others deal with what Taylor calls “outside noise, the things that happen in life that interrupt the natural progression to complete the program.”

Year Up operates as an advocacy program with their corporate partners to help them find talented minorities that are often overlooked. “Year Up takes young adults who are actively engaged with the workforce and moves them through this experience into a life-changing career opportunity,” Taylor concludes.