A 2017 study found that 26 percent of Baltimore City Schools graduates in 2009 had neither pursued higher education nor entered the workforce six months after graduation; only 12 percent had earned college degrees after six years; and 29 percent of city residents between the ages of 18–24 were living in poverty.

Grads2Careers, a collaboration between Baltimore City Public Schools, the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development, and Baltimore’s Promise, is addressing these community challenges through an initiative that provides pathways for recent high school graduates into career-track jobs as part of the StriveTogether network. The initiative funds occupational skills training opportunities in local high-growth fields. Of the more than 950 young people served by Grads2Careers as of February 2024, 660 have completed a training program, with another 108 still in training. Of those who completed the program, 68 percent had obtained a job within six months.