Traditionally, many high school graduates thought they needed a college degree to maximize their job prospects. But today, this reality is shifting, thanks to organizations like Year Up, a tuition-free national job-training program launched in Detroit at the beginning of 2023. The program works to connect high school graduates and GED recipients without post-secondary degrees with long-term employment opportunities.
Year Up is already making progress in getting Detroiters, ages 18 to 29, from underrepresented communities trained and firmly established in rewarding careers. The organization’s partners in Detroit have placed nearly half of their interns in full-time roles in banking and finance this year.
Cheronda White, Year Up’s associate director of Corporate Engagement, said there are many reasons why students don’t obtain a four-year degree — from financial concerns to caring for family and more. But, she said, Year Up is trying to make job opportunities and training more accessible.
“Our goals are job creation and bridging the opportunity divide, connecting young adults without post-secondary degrees with employee partners who have a need for a diverse talent pipeline,” White said. “We offer opportunities to young people who otherwise wouldn’t have them.”
To participate in Year Up, which has programs in 23 markets across the U.S., you must be 18 to 29 years old; a high school graduate without a bachelor’s degree; and you need to live in the designated area like Metro Detroit.
White said the Year Up team looked for local partners to offer internships and potential job opportunities to Year Up graduates in Detroit, and Bank of America immediately came on board. After several weeks of job skills training with Year Up, each class is placed in three-month internships at Bank of America branches, with many of them receiving full-time job offers upon completion of their internships.
“At Bank of America we understand that everyone has a unique path in life, and innovative programs like Year Up are the proof of that,” said Matt Elliott, Michigan Market President for Bank of America. “When Year Up expanded to Detroit, we were eager to commit to helping young people in our community realize there are alternate paths that can lead to quality employment and career paths. The mission of Year Up fits perfectly with the bank’s principles of increasing economic mobility and responsible growth that benefit the communities we serve.”
Year Up’s first successful cohort started in March of 2023, and its members completed the program in June. In that group, 30 interns were placed with a partner company, and 12 were offered full-time jobs after their internship. Through the Bank of America partnership, five internships led to three full-time employee hires.
Chanale Greer, 24, of Detroit, was a member of the first cohort. After finishing her internship at a Bank of America financial center in Dearborn, she earned a full-time role at the bank.
“The branch taught me the ins and outs, and I was shadowing everyone, watching how they do it,” Greer said, adding that she was nervous, because she’d never counted money in front of people before. “I conquered that by having amazing people around me, and by being curious and asking questions. They were patient and honest with me and made me feel like family. They trusted me. They let me do things and critiqued along the way.”
Greer said that in addition to the immediate career benefits for Year Up participants, another benefit is the lifelong network of people they’ve met.
“You’re locked into a network of people who can help you get where you need to be. This is something that follows you forever,” she added.
Lawrence Gordon, Jr., 23, is another Detroiter from the first Year Up class who was hired at the end of his internship as a relationship banker.
“At Year Up, they were willing to answer any questions that I had. They were focused on developing us,” Gordon said. “Year Up gave me the connections that I needed to get into the financial world. They taught us the terms we would be using, things we would need to know, behaviors that would be expected in the branches. They guided us to the right place.”
Gordon, who attended college, but didn’t earn a degree, said he still relies on Cheronda and the Year Up team for guidance.
“Some kids will graduate college and get a degree but can’t find a job in their field,” he said. “This program is like a step in the door. All you must do is be willing to work. The fact I got the opportunity to do this was amazing. I thought I would be a failure because I didn’t complete college, but they showed me otherwise.”
There are 12 interns in the second Year Up class in Detroit; five are interns at Bank of America. Of that group, two will stay on to work with the bank full-time.
Founded in 2000, more than 43,000 students have participated in Year Up. The organization partners with more than 250 companies, including Amazon, Deloitte and Johnson & Johnson.
Another Bank of America intern, Arshad White, 23, said he learned so much working at a financial center and he hopes to work at the bank full time.
“This is an opportunity to get my foot in the door in a reputable industry while I continue my education,” said White, who is originally from Philadelphia, but now lives in Sterling Heights. He is currently enrolled online at the Community College of Philadelphia and plans to transfer to Temple University to complete a four-year degree. “It provides an opportunity to a lot of people who otherwise wouldn’t have the ability to work in impactful industries.”
With a successful first year of Detroit Year Up completed, the program is now accepting applicants for the 2024 class. Cheronda White said Year Up plans to expand beyond finance into the mobility, tech, and health care industries.
“We’re in the Motor City, so mobility is at the top of the list,” she said. “And as the technology for electric vehicles evolves, we want to be a part of it. We’re actively working to scale within the IT, health care and mobility spaces, place more people in those areas with new partners.”
For Noel Toyigbe, who moved to Detroit eight years ago from Togo in West Africa, the Year Up experience led to him accepting a full-time job with Bank of America, starting next year.
Part of the second Year Up class in Detroit, Toyigbe, 29, was majoring in business and information technology at Arizona State University, where he is still enrolled, when a professor told him about the program. Toyigbe called Year Up a very powerful program that connects its interns to great companies.
“It gives you confidence. Some people think they might not have what it takes. But they can,” he said, adding that he would recommend Year Up to anyone who wants to take their career to another level. “Entry level jobs don’t just have to be fast food.”
