Year Up Helps Give Urban Youth The Training And Connections They Need To Land Hot Tech Jobs

Here in the tech industry, it seems that people are always talking about “how hard it is to hire.” That’s something that can sound a little odd, given that there are still so many unemployed people here in the United States. But the reality is, there is often a gap in skills and connections between the many people who are looking for work, and the many hot job openings in tech and business.

One organization called Year Up is dedicated to closing that gap, which it calls the “opportunity divide,” by providing specialized one year of intensive training to young adults aged 18 to 24 with no more than a high school diploma. After training is completed, the program provides introductions to companies keen to hire skilled staff. It’s working out quite well: 100 percent of Year Up graduates are placed into an internship. And earlier this fall, the White House recognized Year Up’s founder and CEO Gerald Chertavian for the impact of the program.

It’s an excellent nationwide program, and its outpost here in the Bay Area not surprisingly has a stronger focus on tech than on other industries – Year Up Bay Area has placed young people in high-paying jobs at tech companies including LinkedIn and Facebook, among others. So TechCrunch TV stopped by Year Up’s San Francisco offices to find out more about the program and what it’s all about. Watch that in the video above.