Revised Project JumpStart aims to include more students and employers
Following a year of strategic planning and growth, Project JumpStart Inc. began 2025 ready to greatly expand student enrollment and employer participation.
In 2024, the BC&E Foundation awarded a $2,348 grant to Project JumpStart to support its 15-week, pre-apprenticeship program in carpentry, plumbing and electrical.
Launched in 2006, Project JumpStart set the stage for a modernization effort when it achieved independent 501c(3) status in 2022.
“That status freed us up to put our foot on the gas peddle and make some necessary improvements in the program,” said Jimmy Stewart, Executive Director.
Since then, Project JumpStart has established processes to regularly update its curriculum and involve more employers in the program. It has expanded its staff and secured a second location which will enable the organization to double its class offerings in 2025.
“With two locations, our goal is to hold six classes a year – three on the east side of Baltimore City, and three on the west side,” Stewart said. “We aim to max out each class, which would be 22 people per class and 132 students in 2025.”
Project JumpStart trainers have extensive experience in the construction industry and 80 percent of them have worked as instructors for five years or longer.
“The Project JumpStart program is employer-centered curriculum which is created by the industry,” Stewart said. “We are now doubling down on that focus and having our curriculum audited every year by industry individuals to make sure that what we are teaching is on par with what the industry needs.”
Project JumpStart has also strengthened its wrap-around services for students. It now leverages both inhouse expertise and community partners to provide employment readiness training, financial literacy education, job search services, and assistance in overcoming obstacles to employment. Those include challenges with transportation, housing, child support and legal issues.
“Another thing we have changed is our front-end assessments,” Stewart said. “We are not assuming that anybody can do construction. Not everyone wants to work out in the elements. Not everyone wants to get up at 4 am or 5 am and work long hours. We improved our front-end assessment to make sure this is a career path that really makes sense for the individual.”
Stewart hopes all those improvements will build on Project JumpStart’s historic success rates. In the past, about 70 percent of graduates have landed construction jobs and many have gone on to develop long, successful careers in the industry.
“We see individuals make major gains in six to 12 months,” he said. “They have income coming in, they can support their family, and they are enjoying life.”
Stewart, who is preparing to form a Project JumpStart Alumni Association, said some successful graduates already make a point of staying in touch with the program and helping students overcome challenges and land good jobs.