Year Up Announces New Austin Site Offering Google Career Certificates and Accelerated Courses to Connect Young Adults with Technology Careers

Year Up Austin will provide young adults, ages 18-29, with two program options, in-demand skills training, and six-month internships at top employers

AUSTIN, Texas, June 17, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Continuing to develop innovative solutions that connect under-represented talent to high-quality jobs, the workforce development nonprofit Year Up announced today that it is launching a new virtual site in Austin that will serve young adults (ages 18-29, without bachelor's degrees), interested in advancing their careers in technology.

The site will offer two program options:

• A three-month program to earn an industry-recognized Google IT Support Certificate with no degree or previous experience in technology required and student-friendly financing through Year Up's Shared Outcomes Plan (more details below). Participants will receive technical and professional skills training and ongoing support from a Year Up learning coach and will have the opportunity to earn the Google IT Support Certificate at their own pace. An employer consortium of over 150 companies considers graduates for related roles.
• A two-week, tuition-free accelerated course for young adults who already have technical skills related to help desk/desktop support (such as computer systems literacy and ticketing system administration). Participants will join daily virtual classes to hone their professional skills and will receive support from a Year Up community which includes a learning coach and fellow students.

After successfully completing their training, participants in both programs will be placed in a six-month internship at a top company, with the potential to be hired into a full-time role. All participants will also earn an educational stipend throughout the program.

"We're excited to launch Year Up Austin to provide pathways for young adults to gain technical careers with leading employers in the community, said Gerald Chertavian, Year Up Founder and CEO. "Every young adult deserves access to in-demand jobs that will provide economic security and mobility. We are grateful to work in partnership with the Austin community to make this a reality."

Year Up Austin is accepting applications on a rolling basis here. Students in the Google IT Support Certificate program will attend virtual skills training classes from October to December 2022, while those in the two-week program will begin orientation on December 19, 2022. Internships will take place from February through June 2023.

"Year Up's proven approach has empowered tens of thousands of young adults across the US," said Year Up Austin Site Director Yvonnda Shelton. "Now, young adults in Austin have the opportunity to develop their expertise in tech and launch careers at top companies in the area."

Nationwide, 80 percent of Year Up graduates are employed and/or attending postsecondary education within four months of completing the program, with average starting salaries of $44,000 per year. In May 2022, the federally-sponsored Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) follow-up evaluation of Year Up showed that in the six years post-program, young adults randomly assigned to Year Up earned $8,000 more per year compared with similar young adults in a control group — the largest sustained impact on earnings reported to date for a workforce program tested in a randomized controlled trial.

There is no upfront cost to participate in the Google IT Support Certificate program with Year Up. Under their Shared Outcomes plan, when participants achieve career success and secure a job earning at least $45,000 annually, they repay a portion of program costs ($105 per month, 0% APR) which are reinvested to support more future learners. The loan is canceled after two years if a participant does not secure a relevant job earning at least $45,000. For participants who meet the repayment qualifications, any remaining loan balance is canceled 60 months after they finish the Year Up program.

Year Up's offering of the Google IT Support Certificate program is supported by the $100M Google Career Certificates Fund, which aims to help more than twenty thousand American workers realize $1B in aggregate wage gains over the next decade. The Fund will help nonprofit Social Finance and its training providers, including Year Up, offer career support, job placement, and stipends to enable learners to access good jobs in high-growth fields.

About Year Up Inc.
Year Up is a national 501(c)3 workforce development organization committed to ensuring equitable access to economic opportunity, education, and justice for all young adults—no matter their background, income, or zip code. Year Up utilizes a high-expectations, high support model where students learn in-demand technical and professional skills and apply them during a corporate internship. Year Up has served more than 34,000 young adults across 35 campuses since its founding in 2000 and has been voted one of the "Best Non-Profits to Work For" by The NonProfit Times. To learn more, visit http://www.yearup.org, and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

Media Contact

Lauren Peachey, Year Up, 424-543-2539, [email protected]

SOURCE Year Up