Item No. 11c supp
Opportunity Youth Initiative Meeting Date: December 8, 2020
Providing King County Youth with Employment Opportunities

Presenters and Guest Speakers
Port of Seattle
Bookda Gheisar, Sr. Director, Office of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
Gail Muller, Project Specialist, Tourism, Economic Development
Partner in Employment
Hien Kieu, Executive Director
Seattle Goodwill Industries
Huan Do, Director
Friends of Georgetown History and Industry, Youth Participants
Jake Bookwalter
Avery Brown

2

COVID - 19 King County
Total unsimbloyment claims
by  ZIP code
South Seattle and South King County workers filed the
highest number of claims per capita.
Percent of adults age 16-64 filing claims through week of 04/26/20 - 05/02/20


Nearly 1in 5 (18%) of the King County workforce filed
unemployment claims between March 1 and April 25.




Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Black/African
=
American and American Indian/Alaska Native workers               Claimsper Capita (%)                         ay Rade~             ur             Click on themap to view claims
filed more claims per capita than did other workers.                                                                                                  for each ZIP code in chart below-


Port's Response to Community Need
COVID-19 Impacts
Extremely high youth unemployment
Disproportionately negative economic impacts on
communities of color
Lack of public or private youth
employment/internship opportunities
Port Commissioners adopted the Opportunity
Motion of up to $1.5M for short-term
employment opportunities for youth and
expedited contracts for qualified organizations
Port supports community-based economic recovery efforts           4

Nearly 200 youth opportunities created
Focus on pathways to Port careers
Seattle Goodwill Industries: 70 youth
Partner in Employment (PIE): 33 youth
Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle: 76 youth
Seattle Parks Foundation: 17 youth

5

Maritime and Aerospace focus
Training and Activities
Maritime industry, STEM, native marine life,
environmental sustainability, shipping repair
and maintenance
Guided in-person and virtual industry tours,
career readiness workshops, Aerospace OSHA-
10 certification, interactive panel of industry
experts

6

Environmental Green jobs
Training and Activities
Green career environmental science
education and training for forest and
salmon habitat restoration with Mid
Sound Fisheries
Youth met professional arborists,
gardeners, horticulturists, restoration
program managers, environmental
educators, salmon biologists

7

Construction readiness
Training and Activities
LIHI's pre-apprenticeship training for
summer cottage build camp, ULMS
Priority Hire construction readiness
training, and ANEW's construction pre-
apprenticeship for building tiny houses


8

Green jobs focus
Training and Activities
Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition: community
engagement, restoration and environmental work,
technology training, leadership curriculum development,
training with Duwamish Valley Sustainability Association,
interactive sessions with engineers, designers, planners
and Port professionals, guided tours, career and
educational planning
Friends of Georgetown History and Industry: developed
Georgetown walking tours, created The Georgetown Youth
Council, and developed project charter or research paper
as a result of training
9

Program challenges
Compliance with COVID safety protocols slowed the pace
of construction, adjusting for staff needed, and timing for
multiple project completion
Weather, school schedules, air quality at times
Transportation to park sites


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Participant Profile
Income                         Age
$15/hour stipend                   16-19: 78%
20-24: 22%
Race                           Gender
Black/African American                                      46%     Female: 32%
People of Color                       24%                      Male: 68%
Indigneous                 23%
White    7%


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Removing barriers and challenges
Student transition moment




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Youth opportunities with impact
87% felt more knowledgeable about job opportunities in the
industry (aviation, maritime, environmental or construction)
90% learned new skills to help them be successful in finding a
job
81% gained understanding of their future career and/or
educational goals and how to reach them
92.5% felt it was helpful for them to earn a wage for this
internship
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Youth Feedback
What challenges or barriers did you experience during your internship?
As a woman, my voice was not heard at times.
COVID made everything complicated. Wearing a mask for the whole shift. Also getting all my
hours every month was somewhat difficult too.
Transportation.
Family issues.
What did you like best about your internship?
I liked building a house from the ground up!
I liked working with a diverse group of people, learning from each other and taking pride in the
work we were doing for our community.
What are your upcoming plans after your internship?
My goal is to become a professional welder in a union.
Going back to school pursuing the career path I wanted to for the rest of my life.

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Thank You!

"Repeat after me: I can do this."              "A little progress each day adds up to big results."



Inspired Partnerships Create Opportunities                     15