As the labor market shifts rapidly, employers face a complicated equation: they are balancing finding top talent, skills gaps, retention pressures, and evolving expectations around education and experience requirements.  

At Year Up United, we are helping employers solve each piece of this complicated equation.  

We have spent 25 years not just preparing young adults for careers, but doing so in lockstep with industry. That’s why leading employers – from Fortune 100 banks to healthcare systems and tech giants – turn to us not only for strong talent pipelines, but for strategic support with hiring and retention efforts. As employers shift toward skills-first hiring and future-proofing their workforce, Year Up United has become more than a talent source – it has become a strategic partner to the skills-first employers of the future. 

Year Up United’s approach has always been rooted in real-time labor market intelligence. Every training pathway is shaped in collaboration with employers and adjusted based on what the workforce actually demands. That’s why more than 1,500 companies have hosted Year Up interns – and over 13,500 of those interns have converted to full-time hires at the same company. Employers see Year Up United not as a pipeline solution alone, but as a thought partner on workforce strategy. 

Take Bank of America, one of Year Up United’s longest-standing partners. Since 2006, the Bank has hosted over 4,000 interns across 17 states, and worked with Grads of Life on their broader strategic hiring efforts.   

Helping people obtain livable-wage jobs is one way we advance economic opportunity in communities and grow market share. And when individuals have access to jobs and careers, and employers have the workforce they need to build their business, economies can thrive, and Bank of America can grow and succeed.” – Matt Gellene, Managing Director, Head of Specialized Consumer Client Solutions 

Our work with Bank of America represents the power of a workforce partnership that grows over time – not just in headcount, but in depth and strategic value. 

Meanwhile, our work with companies like Blackstone and Delta Air Lines represents the outsized impact possible when we focus on updating critical HR practices. Grads of Life, Year Up United’s advisory and thought leadership practice, partners with employers to design and implement skills-first talent strategies that create change at scale – where updates to job descriptions and outdated HR practices unlock outsized opportunities for employees and jobseekers. To date, over 200 employers have leveraged Grads of Life’s tools and services to make tangible progress on their skills-first journeys.  

Whether it’s building a reliable early-career pipeline, developing a skills-first hiring strategy, or managing through the change of a skills-first transformation, we have all the solutions to help employers reimagine how talent is sourced, developed, and retained and go confidently into the future of work.   

Agile Talent Solutions for a Changing Workplace 

Year Up United continues to adapt and expand our offerings to meet employers’ current needs and shape a skills-first labor market. Today, our suite of solutions includes: 

• Career Pathways: Our internship-to-hire model that reduces hiring risk and accelerates culture fit 

• Skills-first talent strategy and implementation support through Grads of Life 

• Regional partnerships that align with local workforce strategies 

• Full-time placement support via YUPRO Placement, Year Up United’s staffing firm Our solutions enable employers to build stronger, more agile companies that are prepared for a skills-driven future. And ultimately, it is these companies that will create a stronger American labor market that works for everyone. 

Meet Carlos - A 2005 Graduate 

Boston - Chapter Lead, Head of Market Data Reliability Engineering, Fidelity  

Before joining Year Up United, Carlos Torres worked minimum wage retail jobs to support himself and his young children, prioritizing their well-being above all else. His primary focus was providing stability for his family, but he knew he wanted more for their future. When he discovered Year Up United, Carlos saw an opportunity to change his path. Inspired by the program’s mission to create equal opportunities, he fully embraced the technical training, mentorship, and community support. Through his internship, he learned adaptability and problem-solving, discovering how to turn challenges into stepping stones for growth.  

Today, Carlos is the Chapter Lead, Head of Market Data Reliability Engineering at Fidelity, where he has built a thriving career for over nine years. He’s become a confident leader, driving innovation and guiding impactful projects. Carlos credits Year Up United for helping him recognize his own potential and develop the determination to succeed. Now, he’s committed to lifting others as he climbs, using his journey to inspire and empower the next generation, just as Year Up United did for him.  

Meet Heaven - A 2018 Graduate 

Puget Sound - Senior Technical Program Manager, eBay  

Before Heaven joined Year Up United, she had several different jobs, including caregiving, customer service, and accounts receivable, while working toward her associate’s degree in business. She found Year Up United on social media from school classmates who joined the program and found success in launching their careers. Determined to find a career a path and take a leap of faith, she signed up for the program.  

At Year Up United, Heaven embraced the challenges of learning new technical skills in quality assurance and testing SQL, project management, and more. She credits the program for providing her a supportive environment to remove self-limitations, a community, and expertise to always be ready for the next step for growth. Now, Heaven is thriving as a Senior Technical Program Manager at eBay. Her success underscores the power of opportunity and perseverance, and she’s now passionate about helping others discover their potential in the tech industry, just as she did.  

Meet Anel - A 2007 Graduate 

Rhode Island - Senior Solutions Architect, Amazon  

Anel Perez, a Rhode Island native, was just 17 years old when he joined Year Up United in 2007. At the time, he was a teenage father juggling the challenges of raising his daughter, working part-time as a retail associate, and searching for a path that offered stability and growth for his family. While his retail job was steady, it lacked the long-term opportunities he needed to build a more stable future. Encouraged by a friend who had attended the program, Anel decided to take a chance on Year Up United, seeing it as his best opportunity to develop the skills and connections to achieve his goals.  

Year Up United was the turning point that Anel was seeking. Equipped with newfound technical skills and professional confidence, he secured an internship that launched a successful career. Today, Anel is a Senior Solutions Architect at Amazon Web Services, where he has been for over eight years, earning multiple promotions and making a significant impact through innovative projects.  Anel remains deeply connected to Year Up United, serving on its Board of Directors and contributing to alumni initiatives. In addition to his professional achievements, he relocated to New York City, with his wife, and welcomed another daughter into their family.