Urban Alliance works with schools and employers to address systemic barriers to economic mobility for young adults of color and to bridge the gaps between education and workforce development for all young people.
Their need:
Emerging adulthood is a formative period for developing critical soft skills, discovering interests and talents, learning the behavioral norms of the workplace, forging supportive networks of mentors and peers, and developing self-determination and self-sufficiency. However, one in eight Americans ages 16-24 are considered disconnected as they are not in school nor working. Due to systemic inequities, young people of color are disproportionately at risk for disconnection, and face increased barriers including attending under-resourced schools, limited exposure to professional networks, and few meaningful employment opportunities. Black youth are nearly twice as likely as their white peers to become disconnected. Prolonged disconnection can have long-lasting consequences on earnings, employment, homeownership, and health: over a lifetime, disconnected youth earn 50% less than the average worker. Researchers warn that current disconnection rates could continue to rise due to the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which have hit historically marginalized communities especially hard. Now more than ever, early work experiences are paramount to rebuilding a more inclusive economy, ensuring that all young people can connect to high-quality, life-sustaining jobs as adults.
Urban Alliance’s evidence-backed model helps prevent disconnection through training, mentoring and paid work experiences, and has been externally validated through a six-year Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) completed in 2017 by Urban Institute, which found that young people who participated in Urban Alliance were more likely to attend college, especially young men. Each year, 85% of program completers immediately connect to a productive pathway (college, career training, employment) and 80% remain connected one-year later.
Our gift:
With support from IREM Foundation, 81 students were served by Urban Alliance’s Property Management Pathway program. The Property Management Pathway combines United Alliance’s traditional professional readiness curriculum, industry-based training, and paid internships with real estate and property management companies to prepare young adults for entry-level roles in leasing or maintenance. The program begins in the Fall with “pre-work,” a two-month workforce readiness bootcamp, covering the professional soft skills participants need to be ready for their first day at their internship. While in pre-work, participants receive additional industry training through an introductory course by Project Destined.
While at their internships, participants complete additional training through IREM and receive skill badges to help build their resumes. Interns work Monday – Thursday, on a part-time basis during the school year (12 hours/week) and transition to full workdays (32 hours/week) over the summer break. Each intern receives on-site supervision from a dedicated mentor, who is an employee at the internship site tasked with providing professional guidance and career coaching. Interns practice skills learned during their training through hands-on experience working as part of a team and receive exposure to common job responsibilities in maintenance or leasing roles. On Fridays, participants attend ongoing professional development workshops facilitated by United Alliance staff. When the program concludes, participants who completed the program are inducted into United Alliance’s Alumni Services and have access to ongoing career and college coaching and professional development resources through United Alliance.
In training and industry credentialing, students received:
• 40 hours of pre-professional soft-skills, digital literacy training completed
• 30 hours of digital literacy training completed
• 30 hours of real estate industry virtual and experiential learning curriculum that includes property tours, mock role play, mock property management scenarios and presentations
• 20 hours of IREM credentialing to earn a Fair Housing skill badge followed by either a Leasing skill badge or Maintenance Risk Management skill badge; 94 badges were earned
Students participated in on-the-job internships:
• 29 real estate property owners and management companies engaged to provide internships to 68 students across 4 markets
• 370 average hours worked per student in paid internships
• $6,317 in average wages earned per student
Students received job offers:
• 11 of 68 program completers were offered part-time jobs or full-time jobs (with benefits) post-internship by their employer and 11 (100%) accepted
IREM Foundation supported 81 students in Urban Alliance’s Property Management Pathway program with 68 successfully completing their internship program.