Request for Proposals (RFP):
Occupational Skills Training Providers for Grads2Careers
Release Date: April 18, 2025
RFP Bidders Conference: April 28 at 5:30 p.m. on Zoom Register Here
Deadline for Submission: May 12, 2025 by 5 p.m. ET
Initiative Background
Grads2Careers (G2C) is a workforce initiative designed to connect recent Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools) graduates—specifically those not planning to immediately attend college—with high-quality occupational skills training that leads directly to employment in high-growth industries. A program within the broader CareerBound initiative, Grads2Careers provides more than just training: participants also receive case management, wraparound supports, and job placement and retention services.
From 2018 to 2025, Grads2Careers has served over 1,200 young adults in its first two phases, with hundreds of alumni entering Baltimore’s workforce in industries including healthcare, IT, construction, and many more. This RFP is to identify partners for our first phase of G2C under CareerBound.
CareerBound is the umbrella initiative that houses Grads2Careers. It is a collaborative effort between City Schools, the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development (MOED), and Baltimore’s Promise. Baltimore’s Promise, a nonprofit organization, plays a central role in this partnership by advancing data-driven and equity-centered strategies that improve outcomes for youth across the city.
These initiatives are dedicated to increasing opportunities for Black, Latinx, and other intersectional youth ages 14–24. By 2030, we seek to serve 8,300 young people in Baltimore through CareerBound’s elements.
RFP Overview
This Request for Proposals (RFP) reflects a commitment to workforce readiness, youth development, provider accountability, and equitable funding.
Awardees will play a vital role in preparing City Schools graduates for high-growth, family-sustaining careers through structured, outcomes-driven training and support.
Selected awardees will recruit, enroll, and support CareerBound participants throughout their training and beyond. As such, ideal candidates will demonstrate their ability to offer occupational skills training aligned with CareerBound’s mission, case management and wraparound supports, and job placement assistance and job retention services.
Successful candidates must also have the ability to provide student stipends, with opportunities for reimbursement on a sliding scale.
Successful applicants will work in close partnership with CareerBound’s core partners to ensure program effectiveness and long-term success for participants.
The 18-month operating period runs from July 1, 2025, to December 31, 2026. This period accommodates two full graduating classes and ensures time for meaningful training and job placement outcomes.
There may be an option for renewal depending on performance outcomes and funding.
Service Population and Industries
Grads2Careers serves 18–24-year-olds who are Baltimore City high school graduates OR have a Maryland GED and currently reside in Baltimore City. Students must not plan to immediately enroll in—or be currently enrolled in—college when applying to the program.
CareerBound is requesting proposals from organizations offering occupational skills training capable of delivering developmentally appropriate, high-quality occupational training tailored to the unique needs of these young adults.
We are seeking occupational skills training providers in an array of fields:
Auto & HVAC
Bioscience
Business and Finance
Construction
Early Childhood Education
Healthcare
Information Technology
Property Management
Transportation & Logistics
Additional innovative training and other non-degree programs are also encouraged to apply!
Detailed Qualifications and Expectations
Minimum Qualifications
Ability to offer industry-recognized credentials leading to employment in high-demand fields.
3+ years of experience delivering high-quality workforce development or youth programming for ages 16–24. Applicants can include:
workforce training organizations;
youth development organizations;
institutions of higher education, both public and private;
community development corporations;
nonprofit and for-profit entities;
neighborhood-based or faith-based institutions; or
any combination of the above.
A track record of effective case management and wraparound supports that reduce employment barriers (e.g., transportation, mental health and wellness, academic support, childcare, legal, financial counseling, etc.).
Capacity and ability to input data and track outcomes in Salesforce, including documentation of credentials and employment.
Ability to provide stipends to students, reimbursable based on a sliding scale.
Strong relationships with employers and evidence of successful placements (letters of support from at least two employers required).
High program outcomes (Goal: 70% completion of those enrolled, 70% employment placement of completers in the field of training, 70% of those placed have 60-day job retention) with clear plans for post-placement support for students and employers, and retention tracking for a minimum of 12 months.
Understanding and application of positive youth development, race equity, and trauma-informed approaches.
Applicants that do not traditionally serve youth or track employment outcomes must explain how their model is adaptable to meet these expectations. Partnerships between occupational skills training providers and youth development organizations are encouraged.
Required Responsibilities
Provide tailored occupational skills training using proven or promising models that assess and respond to youth-specific needs and result in the attainment of one or more industry-recognized credentials.
Pay a stipend to all students per the stipend structure below.
Recruit participants in partnership with CareerBound staff. While CareerBound will provide information to students prior to graduation, providers are expected to recruit 50% of their allotted slots.
Ensure that all students are tested using the TABE or CASAS test. Test scores must be uploaded into Salesforce. CareerBound will centralize testing in schools and can assist with test proctoring at your site. In addition, providers should have the ability to provide academic support, if needed.
Engage students early through soft skills development, career readiness, and pre-training opportunities (potentially pre-graduation) on your own and in collaboration with Baltimore’s Promise.
Work closely with CareerBound staff to support program operations, event attendance, data entry, and training participation.
Provide case management, wraparound supports, and connection to resources for students in need of barrier removal.
Secure job placements for training completers, in the field of training, that pay a family-supporting wage.
Track retention post-placement at 30, 60, 90 days, 6 months, and 12 months, with regular updates in Salesforce.
In Salesforce, document program status, certifications earned, employment placement and retention, and all required case management notes.
Participate in all required meetings and trainings (topics include Positive Youth Development, Race Equity & Inclusion, Mental Health First Aid, and Trauma-Informed Care).
Administer youth entrance and exit surveys.
Educate students on civic engagement and voter registration; assist with voter registration if needed.
Funding Model & Budget Accountability
Funding models must be completed using this Budget Template (please complete Tabs C and E). Please ensure that all required components above are reflected in your budget.
Structured, sliding-scale funding is based on training duration and proof of attendance (students must attend a minimum of three full days of substantive credential-aligned training to trigger any payment):
3–6 weeks: $4,000
7–11 weeks: $5,000
12+ weeks: $6,000
Providers must offer mandatory student stipends of $100/week, awarded incrementally by day of attendance (these amounts should be included in your program budget but are in addition to the amount awarded above; e.g. if your training is eight weeks, your cost per participant would be $5,000 plus $800 for possible stipends for a total of $5,800):
3–6 weeks: $300–$600 total stipend
7–11 weeks: $700–$1,100 total stipend
12+ weeks: $1,200+ total stipend (should be $100 x actual number of weeks)
Please note: These are the required minimum stipend amounts. Providers may include higher stipend amounts in their proposed budgets if desired.
All budgets must disclose additional funding sources; leveraged funds are encouraged.
Mid-cycle budget changes require prior approval. Participant costs cannot be adjusted mid-cycle.
Training start dates for the full program cycle must be submitted in advance (modifications allowed with notice).
Compliance with documentation submission for billing and credential/employment tracking standards is required.
This is a hybrid model for payment, and invoices (and supporting documentation) should be submitted monthly.
To support project launch, awardees will receive 25% of their total award upfront to cover start-up costs. Subsequent payments will be reimbursed based on submitted invoices. Awardees must first fully document and draw down the initial 25% before additional reimbursements can be processed. Additional information will be provided in the contract process.
Providers will be required to submit monthly reports as well as an interim and final report (templates will be provided).
Proposal Submission
Response Document
In a single document no longer than six pages, please address the following questions and prompts.
Organizational overview, including, but not limited to:
Organizational mission
Years of operation, and # of years operating high-quality, workforce development models and/or youth development programs (for ages 16-24).
Past significant efforts relevant to or connected to the work of Grads2Careers.
How does your mission/vision/work align with the values and components of Grads2Careers and CareerBound?
How do you ensure your training is youth-centered? How do you ensure a positive youth development and trauma-informed approach to your training and support services?
How do you incorporate racial equity and cultural competence into your program design?
What qualifications and experience make your staff well-equipped to meet this proposal’s requirements and effectively serve participating youth?
Training program information, including, but not limited to:
Summary of program and description of industry-recognized credential(s) received.
Additionally, describe how you ensure your training is aligned with industry standards.
Also, how do you incorporate career readiness and coaching as well as soft skills training into your programming?
Rationale for program and credential: What is the market demand for individuals credentialed through the training you offer?
Existing track record:
Provide evidence of strong completion and employment outcomes (70% completion of those enrolled, 70% employment placement of completers in the field of training, 70% of those placed have 60-day retention) with clear plans for post-placement support for students and employers, and a plan for retention tracking for a minimum of 12 months.
How do you define and measure the success of your program?
Additionally, describe your experience with Salesforce or other data management tools.
Please provide at least one student story that reflects your definition of success.
Overview of existing and past employer partners.
Cohort size—what is the minimum and maximum number of individuals served through a cohort?
Cohort duration (weeks).
Cohort weekly time commitment in terms of frequency and training hours (e.g. classes twice a week, typically for four hours in either morning from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. or evening from 4–8 p.m.).
Location of program.
Instructional and program staff to participant ratio with summary of staff functions.
Are there any program stipends or incentives (above and beyond the now required $100 weekly minimum)?
Please provide an existing flyer, advertisement, or recruitment materials for your program.
Case management information, including, but not limited to, the following:
Description of case management supports communicated to participants—what do they have access to, and how frequently?
Structure of case management supports
Is this a contracted function (and, if so, please describe the service requirements of the contract) or in-house?
What is the case manager to participant ratio?
Additionally, what partnerships do you have for resources and wraparound supports?
Evidence that demonstrates the effectiveness of your case management model.
List of existing partnerships with resource and supportive services providers that includes an explanation of the services you partner or refer for.
Description of goal or career planning that you do (and a sample template if used).
Amount of time following graduation that the program offers 1) case management support; and 2) employment support, inclusive of employment tracking (one year of follow-up and retention services required).
Supporting Documents
Program budget (including average cost per participant - please complete Tabs C and E of this Budget Template).
Funding sources leveraged currently, or in the past (within the last five fiscal years), to support the cost-per-participant amount, and the average percentage of the cost-per-participant amount supported by each funding source (there is space for this information in Tab C of the Budget Template).
Organizational budget.
Certificate of Good Standing with Baltimore City and the State of Maryland, issued within the past calendar year.
Most recent audited financial statement and IRS Form 990.
Two or more letters of support from employer partners verifying their commitment to hiring program graduates.
Letter(s) of Commitment from or MOU(s) with partner organizations that will support this specific program, if applicable.
Submitting Responses
Responses to this RFP are to be submitted electronically through this online form: CareerBound G2C RFP. Responses must be submitted no later than May 12 by 5 p.m. ET. Late submissions will not be considered.
The review panel reserves the right to deem any incomplete proposal ineligible for competitive review. Please closely follow the guidance in the application to ensure that your application is fully responsive to RFP requirements and thereby eligible for review.
Baltimore’s Promise reserves the right to negotiate with respondents selected on the basis of the technical merit of their proposal and proposed cost. Respondents may be asked to provide additional information on proposals.
Please note that Baltimore’s Promise will not reimburse organizations for costs related to preparing their response.
Evaluation Criteria/Rubric
Each proposal will be reviewed by a panel of stakeholders, including youth, using the following weighted criteria:
Program Design & Alignment | Clear, innovative, and youth-centered training design aligned with one or more priority sectors; developmental fit for 18-21-year-olds; embedded soft skills training and career coaching. | 25 points
Equity & Youth Development Approach | Demonstrated commitment to racial equity, positive youth development, and trauma-informed care; culturally competent support services. | 15 points
Outcomes & Impact | Historical outcomes meet/exceed benchmarks (Goal: 70% completion, 70% employment placement in field of training, 70% retention at 60 days); solid plan for tracking employment outcomes and providing follow-up services for a minimum of 12 months. | 20 points
Employer Partnerships | At least two letters of support from employers; strong relationships demonstrated; realistic job placement plans in relevant field(s). | 10 points
Capacity & Experience | Experience working with youth or young adults; past performance on similar projects; readiness to recruit and support participants. | 15 points
Data & Evaluation | Capacity to use Salesforce or comparable data management tool for case management and reporting; clear plan to document and report outcomes. | 10 points
Budget & Stipend Model | Realistic, cost-effective budget; adherence to mandatory stipend structure; leveraged funds encouraged. | 5 points
Innovation/Collaboration | Strong partnerships with youth-serving organizations or innovative training approaches that can scale. | 5 bonus points
Total Possible Score: 105
Questions About the RFP
A virtual G2C RFP Bidders Conference and information session will be held on April 28, 2025, at 5:30 p.m.
Applicants may submit written questions via email to careerbound@baltimorespromise.org with the subject heading “Occupational Skills Training Providers RFP” by Wednesday, April 30, at 5 p.m.
A recording of the Bidders Conference and a Q&A document will be made available on the Baltimore’s Promise website on May 2.
Important Dates
RFP Release: April 18
Virtual Bidders Conference: April 28 at 5:30 p.m.
Submit questions by: April 30 at 5 p.m.
Release FAQ: May 2
Close RFP: May 12 at 5 p.m.
Stakeholder Review Process (Estimated)Stakeholder review (including youth): May 13–May 29
Questions/Follow-Up with applicants: May 30–June 2
Notification of Awards: Mid-June
Contracts Start: July 1