Looking for Partners to Work on “Income Share Agreements” as a Route to Well-Paying Jobs

Income Share Agreements, or ISAs, offer the potential for helping low-income workers access a broader range of training opportunities to increase their skills and raise their incomes. The idea is simple: rather than paying for training upfront, or taking out a loan that must be paid back whether or not training leads to well-paid work, the worker pays no upfront tuition costs but commits to an ISA — to pay back a portion of their income for a set period to the training partner, but only if and when they obtain a new job above a minimum income threshold. In addition to providing a financing opportunity, ISAs can also help serve as a quality control and accountability mechanism. If training doesn’t produce its promised outcome — a path to a well-paying job — then the training provider will not be paid.

ISAs are gaining interest as accelerated training programs grow, particularly in the technology industry, to prepare workers to secure technical roles that require significant skills training. Jobs like these can move people who are struggling into stable, well-paying careers — provided people can afford the necessary training. At the same time, the payment terms of ISAs are critically important; depending on how they are structured, an ISA could be an affordable way to access expensive training, or they could end up costing the worker much more than anticipated.

NYC Opportunity has partnered with the Economic Development Corporation and the Department of Small Business Services to explore ISAs, and how they can be used to help low-income New Yorkers improve their skills and attain economic stability. As part of this exploration, we have announced a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) to create the Talent Financing Fund. The fund will help low-income New Yorkers to enroll in accelerated training programs, such as coding bootcamps. The fund will also offer additional support services, which may include career coaching, financial counseling, and access to emergency funds.

The RFEI seeks responses from organizations qualified to (1) run a high-quality accelerated learning program with career-oriented outcomes; (2) launch an ISA model and service an income-based payment option for accelerated learning programs; and (3) deliver support services for low-income students.

Responses to the RFEI are due February 14, 2020. Read more about it here.

Read more about ISAs here.