ABOUT

Grads2Careers (G2C) is a partnership of Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools), the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development (MOED), and the nonprofit collective impact organization 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 high school graduates by funding 800 training slots over three implementation cycles in programs with demonstrated success in offering occupational skills training.

Grads2Careers will make use of the operational structure and lessons of One Baltimore for Jobs (1B4J), 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.

Research initiated by Baltimore’s Promise shows that approximately 26 percent of City Schools high school graduates become “disconnected” or “opportunity youth,” meaning they do not enter the workforce or pursue post-secondary 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.

• Organizational leadership of all implementation partners are actively engaged, and G2C staffing exists across public agencies and non-profit partners:
  1. Mayor’s Office of Employment Development: Project Coordinator and Data Technician
  2. Baltimore City Public Schools: Recruitment Specialist and Participant Support Coordinator
  3. Baltimore’s Promise: Counselors (provides wellness services and referrals to G2C participants)
• A diverse set of occupational skills training opportunities in high growth sectors, including healthcare, information technology, construction, transportation and warehousing, biotechnology, and hospitality.
• Centralized recruitment process with school-based recruitment facilitated by City Schools, in partnership with participating occupational skills training providers.
• Wraparound services, which include the following components: legal assistance, wellness services, and Summer Prep Class (a paid academic remediation program for eligible applicants who do not meet the reading and/or mathematics proficiency requirements of the G2C occupational skills training program in which they intend to enroll).
• Professional development and training for occupational skills training providers with the goal of better serving older youth (ages 17 – 21).

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.