Purpose of Grads2Careers

To establish a pathway for recent Baltimore City Public Schools graduates (who are not planning to enter college full-time within the next year) into career-track jobs in growing industries, on the path to a family-supporting wage. Grads2Careers is an element of the CareerBound initiative.

Initiative Summary

Grads2Careers (G2C) is a partnership of City Schools, the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development (MOED), and Baltimore’s Promise. As the first step towards a universal promise of post-secondary education and/or training for graduates of City Schools, Grads2Careers creates immediate opportunities for Baltimore City Public Schools’ graduates by funding training slots in programs with demonstrated success in offering occupational skills training.

From 2018-2021, we served more than 500 youth in Phase I, over three implementation cycles. We are currently in Phase II, which aims to serve 825 youth from 2021-2025. In addition to occupational skills training, youth receive case management and wraparound supports as well as job placement and retention services.

Grads2Careers makes use of the operational structure and lessons of One Baltimore for Jobs, a two-year initiative administered by MOED and funded by the U.S. Department of Labor from 2015-2017 that provided job training programs in high-demand sectors and supportive services.

Background

Research initiated by Baltimore’s Promise shows that approximately 26 percent of Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools) high school graduates become “disconnected” or “opportunity youth,” meaning they do not enter the workforce or pursue postsecondary education or training in the fall after graduation. The median annual income for disconnected City Schools graduates six years after high school graduation is roughly $11,000. Only a small percentage of City Schools graduates successfully complete a postsecondary degree. Among the class of 2009, for example, fewer than 12 percent had earned any type of degree six years after graduation, and African American/black graduates were significantly less likely to complete degrees than white graduates. (Click here to view the full report.)

Overwhelmingly, Baltimore City’s youth are from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds, and most City Schools students are from low-income families. Upon graduation, City Schools graduates face high rates of poverty and unemployment, and within the decade after they graduate high school, there are significant disparities in earnings outcomes along lines of race and gender.

Grads2Careers Model Components

• Organizational leadership of all implementation partners are actively engaged, and G2C staffing exists across public agencies and non-profit partners:

• Mayor’s Office of Employment Development: Project Coordinator and Data Technician

• Baltimore City Public Schools: Recruitment Specialist and Participant Support Coordinator

• Baltimore’s Promise: Data Analyst and Senior Manager of Coordinated Resources (provides assessments and mental health and wellness referrals for G2C participants)

• A diverse set of occupational skills training opportunities in high-growth sectors, including healthcare, information technology, construction, transportation and logistics, biotechnology, automotive, HVAC, early childhood education, human services, and property management and maintenance

• Centralized recruitment process with school-based recruitment facilitated by City Schools, in partnership with participating occupational skills training providers

• Case management and wraparound services as well as referrals to mental health and wellness resource providers

• Summer Prep, a paid academic acceleration program for eligible participants who do not meet the reading and/or mathematics proficiency requirements of the G2C occupational skills training program in which they desire to enroll

• Professional development and training for occupational skills training providers with the goal of better serving the older youth (18-21) population (including positive youth development and race equity and inclusion trainings)

To visit the Grads2Careers website, which includes information about recruitment and the occupational skills training opportunities offered through G2C, please visit www.bmoreg2c.com

Read the Grads2Careers Phase 1 Process Evaluation Report here.

Grads2Careers is supported by two U.S. federal grants. The total cost of Grads2Careers is $8,517,690. $1,000,000 (12%) is funded through a two-year American Rescue Plan Act grant. $500,000 (6%) is funded by a Department of Labor Community Projects grant. The other $7,017,690 (82%) is funded through other resources.