Phase I Evaluation Report

In the spring of 2018, the Grads2Careers (G2C) initiative was launched to establish a pathway for recent Baltimore City Public School graduates who are not enrolled in four-year colleges or universities into well-paying, high-demand and high-growth occupations in the city. With a partnership between the Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools), the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development (MOED), and Baltimore’s Promise, there were three main goals: 1) to connect recent graduates to occupational skills training programs and prepare them for jobs in high-growth job fields; 2) to improve the alignment between school and workforce systems as young people transition between high school and employment; and 3) to dispel the ‘college for all’ mindset among educators and school officials by providing them with additional pathways to careers that do not require a college degree immediately following high school graduation.

The G2C initiative emerged in response to the large proportion of young people, aged 16-24 years, who were both out of school and out of work. Often referred to as “opportunity youth” to convey the benefits of engagement and reconnection, this population faces both short- and long-term socioeconomic consequences as a result of disconnection. While myriad factors contribute to disconnection, the lack of integration between secondary education and the workforce systems makes it difficult for young people to transition from school to employment to achieve their ambitions.

To address this lack of systems alignment and reduce the proportion of young people who are disconnected, the G2C model has included a number of key components: 1) organizational leadership engagement of all implementation partners; 2) a diverse set of occupational skills training opportunities in high growth sectors; 3) a centralized recruitment process with school-based and community-based recruitment facilitated by City Schools, in partnership with participating occupational skills training providers; 4) wraparound supports, including legal assistance and mental health services; 5) a summer prep program for eligible participants who do not meet the reading and/or mathematics proficiency requirements for training providers; and, 6) on-going professional development for training providers including youth development, as well as race, equity, and inclusion with the goal of better serving the older youth (ages 18–21) population.