Year Up Bay Area (“YUBA”), a non-profit workforce development program for motivated and talented young adults, has launched a new Year Up site at Facebook in Menlo Park. The new site, which is Year Up’s first employer-based site on the West Coast, will serve 80 young adults in its first year, allowing the organization to serve 560 young people across the Bay Area.
Year Up provides free job training to talented and motivated youth, ages 18-24, without college degrees. Students gain in-demand technical and professional skills in the first six months, then participate in a six-month internship at a local company.
Facebook, a Year Up corporate partner since 2011, has hired 91 Year Up graduates and hosted nearly 200 Year Up interns in areas such as IT Deployment, A/V Tech, Business Intelligence, IT Helpdesk, Project Management Support and Sales Support.
Jay Hammonds (pictured) is a YUBA graduate who interned at and was then hired by Facebook in 2012. He’s currently a VIP Operations Technician supporting the CEO, COO and CIO and also serves as a mentor for Year Up interns and graduates at the social media company.
“By participating in Year Up, I learned that how to carry myself in a corporate environment that learning is constant and that what I do is more than just for myself,” said Jay, who grew up in Oakland. “As a mentor to current participates, I urge them to understand who they are and where they want to go career wise. I talk to them about the importance of building relationships and stepping outside their comfort zone.”
The first class of students at the Facebook-based job training site will start in September 2018, with recruitment prioritizing young adults from North Fair Oaks, East Palo Alto, Redwood City, and the Belle Haven neighborhood in Menlo Park. Participants in Year Up Bay Area at Facebook are guaranteed a Facebook internship if they successfully complete the first six months of the program, with the opportunity to earn a full-time position at the company after graduating from Year Up.
“As we grow in Menlo Park, it is increasingly important to hire strong local talent and create opportunities for our neighbors,” said Bernita Dillard, Facebook Public Policy Associate Manager, Local Recruitment. “Through this expanded partnership with Year Up and our local talent program, Access, we aim to create a pathway to professional development and equitable employment for our community.”
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