Study Details | Pathways to Work

90001-Study of Year Up Pro

Study quality: High

High

Reason for the rating: This study received a high study quality rating because it is a randomized controlled trial with low attrition, suggesting that findings can be attributed to the program.

Program: Year Up Professional Training Corps (PTC)

Characteristics of study participants:

At least a high school diploma or equivalent, Young adults (age 16-24)

Services provided:

Education and Training, Employment coaching, Job placement, Job search assistance, Peer mentoring, Performance- or behavior-based financial incentives, Soft skills training, Stipends, Unpaid work experience/internships

Setting: Urban only

Methods and Standards Protocol version used for impact review: Version 2.0

Learn about our protocol

Cost: This study includes cost information reviewed by Pathways to Work (under the cost standards in Methods and Standards Protocol Version 2.0).

Study design

Design:

Randomized controlled trial

Study group formation:

The study team recruited three existing Year Up Professional Training Corps (PTC) sites with a history of strong program implementation and high enrollment. The three PTC sites recruited and enrolled conditionally eligible participants from mid-2017 to mid-2019 across four cohorts. Prior to randomization, programs conducted an initial eligibility screening to assess motivation and indications that an individual would be able to benefit from the program, with those who met the screening criteria determined to be “conditionally eligible.” At the time of application to the program, the study team explained that receipt of PTC program services would be determined by a random lottery before obtaining informed consent from study participants. Random assignment was conducted within each PTC program site and cohort via web-based lottery. Formal verification of participant eligibility for PTC occurred post-randomization. Probabilities of assignment to the intervention group varied across cohorts, sites, and random assignment blocks as a result of recruitment challenges; ultimately, assignment probabilities ranged from 50 to 83 percent. A total of 552 participants were randomized, with 389 participants assigned to the program group and 163 participants assigned to the comparison group.

Time period of study:

The study ran from August 2017 to July 2022. Study enrollment ran from August 2017 to early 2019 (with participants enrolled through September 2018 included in the present study). Data collection occurred from July 2017 to July 2022, with outcomes measured over a three-year follow-up period.

Primary outcome domains examined:

Increase short-term earnings, Increase long-term earnings, Increase short-term employment, Increase long-term employment, Increase education and training

Other outcome domains examined:

College enrollment

Study funded by:

The study was funded by a U.S. Department of Education, Institute for Education Sciences grant, Development of College- and Employer-based Career Pathways Models that Build on the Year Up Program Logic (Grant Number R305A150214), and by Arnold Ventures.

Results

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Outcome domain	Measure	Timing	Study quality by finding	Comparison group mean	Program group mean	Impact	Units	Sample size
Increase short-term earnings	Annual earnings	Year 1	High	12,040.00	6,726.00	-5,314.00	2019 dollars	519
Increase long-term earnings	Annual earnings	Year 3	High	20,970.00	20,908.00	-62.00	2022 dollars	519
Increase short-term employment	Ever employed, quarterly	Quarter 6	High	75.90	74.00	-1.90	percentage points	519
Increase long-term employment	Ever employed, quarterly	Quarter 11	High	70.30	66.60	-3.70	percentage points	519
Increase education and training	Ever received a credential	Quarter 11	High	18.70	27.50	8.80	percentage points	552

Short-term outcomes are those measured 18 months or fewer after participants are first offered services. Long-term outcomes are those measured between 18 months and 5 years after participants are first offered services. Very long-term outcomes are those measured 5 years or more after participants are first offered services.

Means are not displayed when not reported or not aligned with the impact estimates. For example, if the impact estimate is regression-adjusted but only unadjusted means are reported in the study, the unadjusted means are not displayed as they are not aligned with the adjusted impact estimate.

Impact estimates are not shown when the estimate units cannot be converted to natural units.

Findings quality key:

High
Moderate

Study quality terms?

The findings quality describe our confidence that a given study’s finding is because of the program. We do not display findings that rate low.

Findings key:

A moderate-to-large favorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A moderate-to-large favorable finding that might to be due to chance
A small favorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A small favorable finding that might be due to chance
A favorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
A favorable finding that might be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
A moderate-to-large unfavorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A moderate-to-large unfavorable finding that might to be due to chance
A small unfavorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A small unfavorable finding that might be due to chance
An unfavorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
An unfavorable finding that might be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
A finding that is unlikely to be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size or direction
A finding of no effect that might be due to chance

Favorable findings are impacts in a direction that is socially desirable. Statistical significance indicates the likelihood that a study finding is due to the program, rather than due to chance. Findings are described as moderate-to-large if the program produced a sufficiently large change in the outcome. An impact receives this designation if the standardized effect size is equal to or greater than 0.25 or equal to or less than -0.25.

Sample characteristics

All study participants were young adults ages 18 to 24 with low incomes and at least a high school diploma or GED at study entry. Most participants (82 percent) displayed multiple risk factors (such as financial issues, housing issues, or a history of substance abuse). The majority of participants had some postsecondary education (71 percent), were Black (64 percent), were employed (63 percent), and were male (54 percent).

Characteristics may sum to greater than 100 percent due to rounding.

Age

Young adults (age 16-24)

100%

Sex

Female	47%
Male	54%

Race and ethnicity

Black or African American	64%
Hispanic or Latino of any race	18%
Another race	18%

The race and ethnicity categories may sum to more than 100 percent if the authors reported race and ethnicity separately; in these cases, we report the category White, rather than White, not Hispanic.

Employment and public benefit status

Were employed

63%

Education

Had some postsecondary education	71%
Had a high school diploma or GED	100%

Program implementation

Implementing organization:

Year Up; local colleges and employers

Program history:

The Year Up Professional Training Corps (PTC) intervention was established before the study's evaluation, with PTC first being implemented in Baltimore in 2010. Between 2010 and 2020, PTC expanded to a total 15 sites across 13 states and was being implemented at two- and four-year colleges and universities.

Program services:

Year Up's PTC program provided skills training, internships, and other supports to young adults ages 18 to 24 who had low incomes and a high school diploma or equivalent certificate. Services were provided in partnership with college campuses over one full year and were delivered in two phases. The first phase—the learning and development (L&D) phase—provided program participants with six months of full-time basic skills and technical training and coaching from instructors at partner colleges and local Year Up staff. L&D services included training in basic English language skills, soft skills, and technical skills; intensive coaching; monitoring; and group feedback from learning communities encompassing PTC staff and program peers. Program participants were required to be enrolled full time in courses at partner colleges during the L&D phase. The second phase paired participants with six-month, full-time internships in a high-demand job sector. PTC participants worked in internships 4.5 days per week and returned to program sites for a weekly half-day seminar to discuss their internship experiences. PTC participants received weekly stipends—about $50 during the L&D phase and $150 during the internship phase—conditional on meeting performance standards articulated in a contract signed at program entry. After the program, participants could receive ongoing job search and placement assistance.

Mandatory services:

None

Comparison services:

Young adults assigned to the comparison condition were not allowed to receive PTC program services but could receive comparable skills training services and work experience elsewhere in the community, including at the colleges where the Year Up PTC program was provided.

Service receipt duration:

Participants recieved services for 12 months. The first six months involved a leadership and development phase in which students took academic and technical courses with college instructors and received training, coaching, and other supports from Year Up staff. Over the next six months, PTC participants were placed in full-time internships with local firms and participated in a weekly half-day Internship Seminar workshop led by Year Up staff. Following completion of the internship, participants continued to have access to 12 months of job search and placement assistance, as well as support for college enrollment, from Year Up staff.

Program funding:

The program was funded by employers, in the form of internship payments, and partner colleges.

Study publications

Fein, D. and Maynard, R. (2022). Improvement testing in the Year Up Professional Training Corps program: Final grant report. Rockville, MD: Abt Associates.

Fein, David, Rebecca Maynard, Rebecca Baelen, Azim Shivji, and Phomdaen Souvanna (2020). To improve and to prove: A development and innovation study of Year Up’s Professional Training Corps, Rockville, MD: Abt Associates Inc. Available at https://www.abtassociates.com/files/insights/reports/2021/tip-report-1-21-21.pdf

View the glossary for more information about these and other terms used on this page.

Pathways to Work refers to programs by the names used in study reports or manuscripts. Some program names may use language that is not consistent with our style guide, preferences, or the terminology we use to describe populations.

Study of Year Up Professional Training Corps (PTC)