photo: phoenixdailyphoto/ BY-NC-SA

By: Christopher Tiffenson

Year Up is a powerful program in San Francisco that empowers urban talent to reach their potential. Year Up does this by training young people ages 18 to 24 for careers in business and technology and later setting them up with paid internships that provide on-the-job training. The people at Year Up believe that there is an untapped pool of urban talent in the United States. They believe these individuals need to be put in touch with employers and vice versa. This would help employers fill vital roles within their companies and help unemployed youth find jobs. Youth Radio spoke with Year Up' s San Francisco site leader, Phil Robinson to find out more about this program.

Q: How does Year Up change lives?

A: Year Up changes lives by providing participants with the skills necessary to make it in a professional setting and making the link between learning skills and practicing them in a professional setting as a functioning part of a company’s staff. There is a student that completed the Year Up program that is now employed with SalesForce.com (one of Year Up’s corporate partners) and is making over $40,000 a year, living in his own apartment and working on completing his bachelors degree. Prior to his current success this particular person was in six different foster care situations and later was homeless, living in his car.

Q: What is Year Up looking for in an applicant?

A: Year Up is looking for people that are motivated. We want applicants that are committed to empowering themselves and willing to take control of their academic and professional lives. The folks at Year Up believe that once a person is in control of their own professional life then they will be paid fairly for their labor , which in turn leads to a stable personal life.

Q: How does Year Up put untapped urban talent and employers in touch with each other?

A: Year Up is divided into two phases- Phase one is 21 weeks of onsite training in a classroom setting. It is a lot like going to school. During phase one participants take courses in computer investment operations technology and networking, business communications and professional skills. An added benefit of participating in this phase of the Year Up program is free college credits through San Francisco City College. These credits once earned are transferrable to the UC system. After completing the first phase in addition to getting transferrable credits participants will be certified computer technicians through San Francisco City College. Phase two is the internship phase where they work as a functioning part of the tech teams at Year Up’s corporate partners. The participants work as IP / LAN specialists and helpdesk specialists.

Q: Why does Year Up focus on Technology and Investment Operations?

A: Year Up currently focuses on teaching technology and business courses because companies are having a hard time filling out their teams in these areas. They need more talent and we feel like the young adults around the Bay Area and other cities that we serve are that talent. We feel like that's where the jobs are. We are willing to shift  the focus or expand our curriculum to suit the changing demands of the economy and workforce. If another industry needs our students we will put a track in place to meet the demand. For example in the Bay Area (computer / electronic) gaming and software are a potential addition to Year Up’s regimen. Other career tracks we may address are bio tech and green jobs. Once the green job initiave gets off the ground and there are positions available for people with the right skills we will begin to offer that kind of training as well.

Q: How does Year Up teach effective communication leadership and teamwork?

A: Year Up relies on teaching its participants core values of accountability, building trust, being honest, respecting and valuing others and striving to learn always. This is primarily done in the business communications and professional skills classes. Students are taught public speaking and how to communicate in a business setting and how to write effective emails and memos. The participants also take conflict and anger management classes. We also bring in experts to teach sections of the curriculum for more effective training. Year Up also pairs each participant with a staff advisor and a mentor. The staff at Year Up take pride in the fact that these personal relationships with participants are not just during their time in the classroom but also outside of the classroom as well.

Q: What is happens once a participant completes Year Up?

A: Just under half of the participants in Year Up stay on with the corporate sponsor that they interned with. For those who do not Year Up provide assistance with job search and entry into higher education from our intern / alumni services manager.