Propel America

Year Founded: 2019

Propel is a national nonprofit that provides young adults with accelerated, supported, and affordable ways to access a meaningful career and to provide healthcare employers with local and diverse trained talent.

Propel’s theory of change is grounded in the fact that many young adults – especially those from marginalized and lower-income communities – cannot afford in both time and dollars to wait four years for that good first job. Propel offers these young people a tuition-free “jobs-first higher education” that prioritizes accessibility and affordability so that young people can have the quickest path to gainful employment. Its fellowship provides young adults with hands-on training, individualized and culturally responsive coaching, and externships with employer partners that result in guaranteed interviews for full-time entry-level roles in allied health careers.

Propel operates in five regions across the country and integrates with eight employer partners. Propel Fellows train to be medical assistants or sterile processing technicians and earn stackable college credits that can be applied to future education and career advancement. Propel has increased enrollment by 40% in the last year while maintaining a hire rate of ~60% and maintaining 100% of their employer partners. A recent alumni survey found that 74% remain employed over a year after placement. Propel America is an alumnus of New Profit’s 2020 Postsecondary Innovation for Equity I Catalyze cohort.