Sector-specific job training: Charlotte, NC
MORE ABOUT THE STRATEGY USED IN THIS CASE STUDY Sector-specific job training, Job placement services and supports
At-a-Glance
Summary
In 2014, researchers at Opportunity Insights published a study on intergenerational mobility in America’s 50 largest cities. Charlotte ranked last - the study found that a child born in Charlotte to a family with an income in the bottom quintile had only a 4.4 percent chance of reaching the top quintile in their lifetime.
In response, local government and civic leaders launched the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Opportunity Task Force in 2015. The Task Force called for investments in internships and career-connected pathways through post-secondary education. To help meet that need, Year Up, a Boston-based nonprofit, expanded to Charlotte in 2019. The Year Up program operates tuition-free and provides its mostly low-income participants with six months of sector-specific technical coursework followed by a six-month internship, with the goal of transitioning them into full-time roles.
Keys to the program’s success included strong support among local leaders for investments in interventions to boost economic mobility; a community college partner committed to strengthening the coursework offered through the program; a strong network of employers offering high-quality internships; an inclusive and holistic approach to recruitment and admissions; and building a local Year Up team with strong connections to young adults in Charlotte, which allowed it to enroll a large first cohort.
Challenges faced by the program included meeting strong demand from employers and securing year-long commitments from students.
Results and accomplishments
30%
A 7-year impact evaluation of Year Up found that participants earned, on average, 30% or $2,272 more per quarter than a control group. Effects persisted throughout the seven-year period.
85%
As of November 2021, 85 percent of all Year Up Charlotte alumni were in full-time, training-aligned roles, with another 5 percent enrolled in school.
$29.03
The average starting salary for Year Up Charlotte alumni is $29.03 per hour or $60,382 per year. Prior to enrollment, more than half of Year Up Charlotte participants reported that they earned less than $25,000 per year.
Year Up’s largest founding cohort: Year Up Charlotte enrolled 50 students in its first cohort in 2019 -- the largest in Year Up’s two decades of operation. All students in that cohort interned at Bank of America, and 70 percent secured full-time employment there after the program concluded (10 percent continued their education). Through the start of 2024, Year Up Charlotte has served more than 846 young adults.
Raising earning potential for participants: Alumni of Year Up Charlotte earn an average starting salary of $60,382. More than half of those graduates were earning $25,000 or less prior to enrollment, meaning that Year Up helped many students double their incomes in the short term while also significantly increasing their earning potential over the long term.
Launching an accelerated program: After two years of building out its Charlotte site, Year Up launched an accelerated program for young adults with some previous technical experience in Java programming, cyber security, or business. Instead of six months of coursework, the accelerated program provides participants with an accelerated 8-week training course before starting Year Up’s standard 6-month corporate internship. The first cohort had 8 participants, and has since grown to about 30 students per cohort.
Recognition for outstanding collaboration: In January 2021, the North Carolina State Board of Community Colleges honored Central Piedmont Community College with its Distinguished Partners in Excellence award for its work alongside Year Up and Bank of America. The honor recognized the partners’ successful launch and scaling up of the Year Up model while navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, including conducting classwork and internships remotely.
Overview
What was the challenge?
Charlotte ranked last in upward mobility: In 2014, a team of Harvard and UC-Berkeley researchers, led by Dr. Raj Chetty, published a major study on intergenerational mobility in America’s 50 largest cities. Charlotte ranked last. The study found that the probability of a child born in Charlotte to a family with an income in the bottom quintile had a 4.4 percent chance of reaching the top quintile of national income distribution in their lifetime.
A “wake-up call” for Charlotte-Mecklenburg: The Chetty study spurred a strong response from local leaders across sectors, from government to higher education to the finance industry, which has a significant presence in the area. As a first step, Charlotte Mayor Dan Clodfelter and Mecklenburg County Commissioner Trevor Fuller worked with civic leaders to create the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Opportunity Task Force. The group included private sector leaders (including from Bank of America), educators (including from Central Piedmont Community College), nonprofit and faith-based leaders, and local government representatives.
Prioritizing career pathways to upward mobility: The Opportunity Task Force spent 18 months in 2015 and 2016 developing concrete policy solutions and interventions to address the factors the Chetty study identified as strongly correlated with intergenerational mobility, including college and career preparedness. The Task Force zeroed in on two strategies to prioritize immediately: building career-connected pathways through post-secondary education and investing in internships, especially for youth who were not in school or working.
Connecting talent and opportunity: The reality highlighted by the Chetty Report and the solutions identified by the Task Force matched the needs of both sides of the labor market in Charlotte. The area had a large supply of jobs, half of which were “middle-skill,” meaning they required specialized, post-secondary training, but not necessarily a college degree. Despite the ample supply of jobs, employers reported a persistent dearth of talent: just over 40 percent of the workforce met middle-skill job criteria. With thousands of residents searching for high-quality employment, Charlotte leaders zeroed in on filling a clear gap in the area: upskilling young workers with low incomes.
What was the solution?
Free technical training and career support: Year Up operates a tuition-free program that provides six months of market-specific technical coursework followed by a six-month internship, with the goal of transitioning participants into full-time roles. In Charlotte, where most partner companies are large banks or tech companies, Year Up offers tracks in software development, cyber security, and project management. The average Year Up Charlotte student is 21 years old, and more than half identify as low-income. Year Up Charlotte admits roughly three quarters of applicants.
Delivering coursework through a community partner: Year Up Charlotte partners with Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC) to deliver the initial 6-month Learning and Development phase. CPCC professors teach Year Up courses, for which students also earn college credit. Participating employers help to design the curriculum, and, in some cases, help teach classes on job-specific tools (such as on project management software used at Bank of America). During this time, students receive a weekly stipend of $50.
Placing students in internships: After the six months of coursework, Year Up places each internship-ready student into a track-specific, six-month internship with a partner company (e.g., a project management student will be placed in a project management role at Bank of America). Students receive a weekly stipend of $525 to help cover expenses like transportation and food. Year Up Charlotte places students in internships at companies including: AvidXchange, Bank of America, Capgemini, Compass Digital Labs, JPMorgan Chase, LendingTree, Lowe's Home Improvement, LPL Financial, Okta, and Wells Fargo & Company.
Career development and support services: As students near the end of their time in the program, Year Up’s Career Services team works with them to ensure a smooth transition into a full-time role. Typically, around half of Year Up participants convert directly into a full-time role at the employer with which they completed their internship. Those who do not secure employment at their internship site receive further support from both the Career Services team and YUPRO Placement, a staffing agency that offers job search services, like interview preparation support, and maintains a carefully-curated job board.
A strong match between city and program operator: As Year Up looked to expand its model in 2015, the Chetty report and the Opportunity Task Force signaled that Charlotte had a demonstrated need for its program. With enthusiastic commitments from a corporate partner (Bank of America) and education partner (Central Piedmont Community College), Year Up selected Charlotte as its newest site.
What were the key components of the program’s design?
Providing a seamless pathway to employment: The Year Up program is carefully sequenced to help participants build relevant skills, gain work experience, and secure a permanent job. By offering technical training, internship opportunities, support services, and job placement services as part of a single program, Year Up reduces the number of transition points at which participants might drop out of a workforce training program.
Offering high levels of support and setting high expectations: Year Up uses a “high expectations, high support” model. When beginning the program, participants sign a contract agreeing to adhere to a set of professional standards. To assist participants in meeting these expectations, Year Up provides a comprehensive set of support services.
Earning a certificate, with a pathway to a degree: To ensure graduates have formal credentials they can use to demonstrate technical expertise, Year Up provides students with a certificate. Each Year Up course is also credit-bearing, ensuring that as students advance through the program, they are earning credits toward an associate’s degree at CPCC.
Bidirectional partnerships with employers: Strong relationships with area employers are a key part of the Year Up model. These employers not only provide internship opportunities to program participants, but ultimately contribute the majority of the program’s cost through payments to interns. Employers in Charlotte were willing to make these significant commitments because of the high level of career readiness among Year Up participants and the program’s intentionality around meeting local workforce needs.
Who were the key stakeholders?
Central Piedmont Community College: During the six-month Learning and Development Phase, Year Up students take classes at Central Piedmont Community College. Tuition and fees are covered entirely by Pell Grants and other scholarships. CPCC was committed to working with Year Up to strengthen the coursework offered through the program.
Corporate partners: Corporate partners are essential to Year Up’s model, providing internship sites during participants’ second phase in the program. Partners commit to fee-for-service agreements with Year Up, which cover the cost of each student’s coursework as well as weekly stipends for participants. In Charlotte, Bank of America was a key partner during the initial launch; 70 percent of the first Year Up cohort secured full-time jobs with Bank of America.
Social service organizations: Year Up participants have access to a range of student support services while in the program. While certain supports are offered directly by Year Up staff, many are provided through partnerships with community-based organizations. This includes partnerships with Cano Family Services, which provides mental health counseling; Loaves and Fishes for referrals of food insecure students; Dress for Success, which provides students with professional attire; among many others.
Evaluation firms: Year Up prioritizes rigorous program evaluation as a key component of its central mission. Year Up regularly completes studies, including randomized controlled trials, with leading evaluation firms (e.g., Economic Mobility Corporation, Abt Associates). These evaluations allow the organization to test the effectiveness of its model and identify areas for improvement.
What factors drove success?
Building on local leaders’ momentum: The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Opportunity Task Force cultivated strong alignment among local leaders to prioritize investments in economic mobility interventions. Key leaders included those in city and county governments, higher education, and within the local business and philanthropic communities. With city and county executives vocally supporting the collaborative, partner-focused approach, which continues today in the form of the nonprofit Leading on Opportunity, the Charlotte area positioned itself as an especially strong market for Year Up’s evidence-based program.
A committed education partner: Since Year Up first considered Charlotte as a site, Central Piedmont Community College has been an enthusiastic partner, starting with school president Dr. Kandi Deitmeyer. CPCC has provided instructors to teach classes, worked with Year Up to tailor its curriculum to program needs, and contributed significant recruiting support, including emails, tables at program fairs, and a speaking slot at orientation.
A strong network of employers: Year Up was drawn to Charlotte in large part due to a commitment from Bank of America to offer internships at its corporate headquarters. With Bank of America hiring 70 percent of its first cohort of interns into full-time roles, other major employers in the area quickly approached Year Up for partnerships. This is especially crucial to the Year Up model, since partner companies cover a significant portion of the costs of student coursework and stipends.
Filtering students in, not out: With employer demand for Year Up interns continuing to increase, Year Up Charlotte has invested heavily in its recruitment efforts, primarily through marketing campaigns and events in partnership with CPCC. To further build out its student pipeline, Year Up Charlotte takes an inclusive and holistic approach to recruiting and admissions. For instance, grades are only a small part of the application process, while an hour-long interview takes on added importance in many cases. Additionally, Year Up Charlotte uses the application process to inform students about wraparound services, such as stipends for childcare and transportation.
Building a team with deep local knowledge: Year Up prioritized hiring staff with established networks in Charlotte, especially among young adults. For instance, as one of its first hires, Year Up Charlotte brought on an admissions specialist from CPCC and a recruiter who had strong relationships with area school districts and churches. Year Up’s central office in Boston, meanwhile, manages the bulk of employer relations. By building a team with strong connections to networks of local young adults, Year Up Charlotte was able to enroll a program-record 50 students in its first cohort.
What were the major obstacles?
Meeting employer demand: After two years of preparing young adults for corporate internships and careers, existing partner companies in Charlotte have asked Year Up for significantly more interns than the program can recruit given its current staff capacity. Demand in Charlotte for Year Up interns has grown so rapidly that the program is forced to turn away some new employers interested in partnering. As a result, Year Up Charlotte is working to expand its recruiting efforts and has launched the accelerated program.
Securing year-long commitments from students: As fast food restaurants and retailers increase their wages (in some cases, up to $20/hour), Year Up has faced a shortage of students willing to commit to the full-year program. Some young adults in the area report that they prefer to earn relatively high wages in the short term, rather than forgoing such wages for 12 months of career development with Year Up.
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Timeline
A tech entrepreneur, Gerald Chertavian, had volunteered for years with Big Brothers Big Sisters. He recognizes a gap in workforce development offerings for young adults from low-income families, especially in careers with significant potential for upward mobility. To address this, he launches Year Up in Boston. Today, Year Up operates in 19 markets across the country and has served more than 36,000 students.
Throughout its history, Year Up has prioritized rigorous program evaluation through randomized control trials. This includes a 2011 analysis conducted by the Economic Mobility Corporation, which showed that Year Up helped students increase their annual incomes by 30 percent in a year. PACE conducted another study starting in 2011, in which the latest results, published in 2022, show Year Up alumni earning 30 percent higher average wages six years after graduation than members of the control group.
A major study, led by Harvard researcher Dr. Raj Chetty, ranks Charlotte last in the nation in intergenerational mobility. Among its findings, the study shows that a child born into a low-income Charlotte family earned an average of $26,000 per year, roughly equal to the federal poverty line. The study prompts civic leaders in Charlotte to urgently look for solutions.
As part of the area’s response to the Chetty report, local leaders, including corporate executives, educators, clergy, and government officials, come together to identify specific strategies and priorities to improve upward mobility in Charlotte. Over the next 18 months, the Opportunity Task Force determines that the community must create more pathways connecting post-secondary students to high-quality jobs.
With longtime partner Bank of America headquartered in Charlotte and Central Piedmont Community College expressing strong interest in hosting the program, Year Up launches in Charlotte. The program’s first cohort is Year Up’s largest inaugural class ever, with 50 students.
After the first Year Up class in Charlotte completes its 6-month corporate internship program with Bank of America, the company hires 35 students into full-time roles. The students’ success at corporate headquarters inspires Bank of America to commit to hiring 500 more Year Up alumni across the country.
The North Carolina State Board of Community Colleges honors Year Up, Central Piedmont, and Bank of America for their partnership, noting their collaboration in supporting students during the COVID-19 pandemic. With 58 community colleges in North Carolina, the state’s authorizing agency points to Year Up Charlotte as an exemplary workforce development program.
After Bank of America reports an overwhelmingly positive experience with Year Up Charlotte’s first cohort, a range of major companies in the area approach Year Up about hosting interns. With the surge in demand, Year Up adds 9 new partner companies, including major banks like Wells Fargo and JP Morgan Chase, along with tech companies including Okta and Compass Digital Labs.
Local staff begin searching for new student pipelines to fill the rapidly growing demand for Year Up interns among corporate partners in Charlotte. They identify that some students already had technical experience and could be ready for the corporate internship without a full course load. After launching an eight-week accelerated program with 8 students, Year Up expands the program to serve approximately 30 students per cohort.
Year Up launch an accelerated program to prepare young adults for roles in consumer banking. The program is created in collaboration with JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America. Since 2022, 31 young adults have completed the program, with 77 percent of them converting into a full-time role at their internship employer.
Year Up adds multiple new corporate partners in Charlotte, allowing it to expand the internship opportunities offered to students. These partners include: Compass Group, Capgemini, Lending Tree, LPL Financial, Okta, Equitable, TIAA, Baringa Partners, Nationwide, and Lineal Services.
A study sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families shows that earnings gains for Year Up participants persisted seven years after beginning the randomized control trial. In the seventh year, participants earned an average of $8,251 more than members of the study's control group.
In July 2022, Year Up reaches two milestones: 500 students and 350 program graduates served in Charlotte.
Implementation process
How were community members engaged?
Regularly assessing participant satisfaction: Year Up’s national office works with each program site, including Charlotte’s, to administer surveys to program participants at multiple points each year. These surveys ensure the Year Up team understands trends in participant satisfaction and can adjust their programming in response to feedback.
Creating multiple avenues to engage employer partners: Year Up established a Client Advisory Board, which includes representatives from employer partners across multiple industries, to provide feedback on the program’s design and strategic direction. At a national level, Year Up also conducts focus groups and other forms of market research to better understand labor market trends and the needs of employer partners. Each corporate partner also has a dedicated point of contact at Year Up, ensuring partners have regular opportunities to provide feedback.
How did racial equity considerations factor in?
Removing financial barriers: In Charlotte, as throughout the country, low-income households are disproportionately households of color. To lower financial barriers to participating in the program, Year Up provides participants with a biweekly education stipend. When larger or unexpected expenses arise, participants also have access to Year Up’s Student Success Fund and CPCC’s Single Stop program, which can provide additional monetary grants.
Providing trauma-informed programming: Year Up is committed to understanding and addressing the impact of trauma on their student population. As such, Year Up staff have undergone training and adjusted programming to better support students who have experienced trauma. Partnerships with local nonprofit organizations - like My Brother’s Keeper - ensure Year Up is able to provide additional supports for young men of color.
Offering services to promote student success: Year Up’s Student Support Services Team works with partner organizations in Charlotte to provide program participants with a wide range of support services. These include financial education programming, criminal record expungement counseling, mental health counseling, life skills and conflict resolution training, among others.
What were the key activities leading up to and following launch?
Mobilizing civic leaders: Responding to the inequities in economic mobility in the Charlotte region, and the area’s need for a larger “middle-skill” workforce, local government and civic leaders launched the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Opportunity Task Force. The group, a multidisciplinary collection of educators, corporate executives, clergy, and others, was tasked with identifying concrete proposals to address these challenges. After 18 months, the Task Force issued its recommendations, which included increased investment in upskilling opportunities for young adults.
Selecting Charlotte as an expansion site: Already operating in several cities around the country, Year Up saw Charlotte as a strong candidate for an expansion site. Year Up had a strong existing relationship with Bank of America, which had a large presence in Charlotte. Additionally, when evaluating potential education partners, CPCC leadership showed enthusiasm for a partnership with Year Up, recognizing the mutual benefits of shared recruiting and market-specific career development programming.
Staffing up the local office: With commitments in place from an employer and a college, Year Up first hired Elise Ford, a longtime central office staff member, as its site director in Charlotte. She then built out her team, prioritizing admissions and recruitment staff with extensive experience in the Charlotte area. Year Up’s Charlotte offices are located at Central Piedmont Community College.
Developing a market-specific curriculum: As it prepared for launch, Year Up Charlotte convened Bank of America staff members and CPCC professors to select locally relevant learning tracks and tailor coursework to meet the area’s workforce needs. The partners launched three tracks, with courses taught by CPCC professors and open to all CPCC students: project management, software development, and cyber security.
Recruiting students: Year Up and CPCC collaborated closely on student recruiting and enrollment efforts. For instance, CPCC admissions staff encouraged Year Up recruiters to join them on visits to high schools, offered shared table space at activity fairs, and provided a speaking slot at orientation. CPCC also facilitated information sessions for Year Up, and encouraged high school students, teachers, and career development coaches to attend, which helped to familiarize them with the new program. This approach yielded the largest starting cohort in Year Up’s two decades of operation -- 50 students.
How was this approach funded?
Start-up costs to launch the program: Year Up set a $4 million target in Charlotte for launch capital to cover start-up costs, such as office space and staff. It secured that funding through private donations, including from Bank of America, the Duke Endowment, and the John M. Belk Endowment.
Securing support from corporate partners: Year Up Charlotte generates roughly three-quarters of its revenue from fee-for-service agreements with its corporate partners. These fees cover the costs of each student’s coursework, along with weekly stipends ($50 per week during the first half, and $525 per week during the second half).
Leveraging philanthropic and public support: Year Up Charlotte receives roughly a quarter of its revenue through philanthropic grants and private donations, which typically cover overhead and scaling efforts (such as launching the accelerated program). Additionally, while the Charlotte site has not yet received public investment directly, at the national level, Year Up receives limited financial support from federal grants.
Conducting randomized control trials: Year Up combines philanthropic dollars and federal grants to support program evaluation. As a national organization, Year Up spends roughly $1.1 million per year on evaluation, including staff and internal administrative costs (in addition to varying sizes of project-specific investments for long-term evaluations).
How was the approach measured and refined?
Program evaluation as a core operation: As part of its central mission, Year Up prioritizes investing in rigorous evaluation of its programs. Since 2007, Year Up has completed dozens of studies on its programs, including four different randomized controlled trials with leading evaluation firms like Economic Mobility Corporation and Abt Associates. These robust studies test the effectiveness of its model and identify areas for improvement. Year Up also employs six internal evaluators and data scientists to help conduct scientific studies and refine Year Up’s curriculum and business operations. This internal team regularly engages with experts from major research firms and universities to help inform organizational decision-making.
Surveying students and alumni: Year Up’s central office research team works with each program site to administer several surveys throughout the year. These measure several outcomes, such as satisfaction among enrolled students (satisfaction rates typically hover around 90 percent). The team also conducted a survey in partnership with ICT International in 2016 to track alumni outcomes across sites, which include a 93 percent satisfaction rate, a 75 percent full-time employment rate, and an average income of $22 hour.
Adding an accelerated program in Charlotte: To serve more experienced students and to meet employer demand, Year Up Charlotte recently launched an accelerated program, which serves a wider age range (18-29) and requires some previous coursework in Java programming, cyber security, or business. Instead of the full six months of classes, the accelerated program provides eight weeks of coursework followed by the full six month corporate internship.
Expanding program eligibility during COVID: With demand for Year Up interns rising just as the COVID-19 pandemic struck, the program extended its age range for eligible applicants up from 18-24 years old to 26 years old.
Measuring long-term effects: A May 2022 report on Year Up's long-term impacts found that the program increased participants' earnings by an average of 28%, and that effects persisted throughout the seven-year follow-up period. The research showed that the increased earnings were associated with increases in household and personal income and decreases in housing insecurity, debt, and public benefit receipt.
Next Steps
Assess the need
Providing sector-specific job training has been shown to improve outcomes predictive of upward mobility. These outcomes, identified by the Urban Institute, are employment opportunities, jobs paying living wages, opportunities for income, and financial security. City and county leaders can assess local conditions for each of these outcomes using the metrics listed on the Economic Mobility Catalog’s sector-specific job training page. All cities and counties with populations over 75,000 can receive a customized data sheet here.
Engage stakeholders
Implementing Year Up’s job training model requires collaboration between multiple stakeholder groups. When adapting the model to a local context, program leaders should consult with area employers, post-secondary institutions, workforce boards, and other relevant community-based organizations.
Additionally, ongoing engagement is important to ensure the program continues to meet local workforce needs over time. As seen with Year Up Charlotte, advisory boards, focus groups, and formal market research can be an effective tool for stakeholder engagement.
Make the case
On a per-participant basis, the Year Up model is among the most expensive job training programs for young adults. (However, the majority of these costs are covered by area employers, and little public money is typically needed to operate Year Up sites.) To help persuade skeptics of the model’s value, program leads should familiarize themselves with the strong evidence behind the model. Additionally, identifying peer jurisdictions that have partnered with Year Up can also help build support.
Access tools
To support the implementation of this strategy, a selection of resources are included below: