11d. Memo

Youth Internship Programs Update

COMMISSION 
AGENDA MEMORANDUM                        Item No.          11d 
BRIEFING ITEM                            Date of Meeting       April 12, 2022 
DATE:     March 24, 2022 
TO:        Stephen P. Metruck, Executive Director 
FROM:    Amberine Wilson, Emerging Talent Manager 
Kim DesMarais, Talent Management Director 
Katie Gerard, Human Resources Senior Director 
SUBJECT:  Youth Internship Programs Update 
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
This briefing informs Commission of 2021 outcomes and 2022 goals for the Port's Youth
Internship Programs. It also briefly reviews program history. 
In 2021: 
1.  We  restored  our  post-secondary  programming,  offering  55  internships  for  college
students and youth in certificate programs. 
2.  We recruited from communities furthest from opportunity and most impacted by
COVID19, including focusing our post-secondary recruitment on graduating seniors who
were facing unprecedented unemployment. 
3.  Our  high  school  program  maintained  80%  of  its  budgeted  hires  and  held  virtual
internships every quarter. 
4.  We  hired  a  consultant  to  manage  our  first  Youth  Experts  Panel,  a  community
engagement process that gathered feedback, recommendations, and priorities from
partners and former interns. 
5.  We continued our partnerships with Young Executives of Color, El Centro de la Raza,
Puget Sound Skills Center, our Muckleshoot and Suquamish neighbors, Duwamish Valley
Youth Corps, and the Museum of Flight. 
6.  We  also  developed  new  partnerships  with  YearUp,  Asian  Counseling  and  Referral
Services and with YWCA's Femme2Stem program. 
Key 2022 efforts include: design youth opportunities with Maritime and Aviation High Schools,
expand outreach to several other youth-serving organizations, and develop an MOU with our
Muckleshoot and Suquamish partners. 
BACKGROUND 
In the last six years, the Port has rapidly increased its high school and college internship
programs, while keeping expenses flat. Through innovation and community partnerships, we

Template revised April 12, 2018.

COMMISSION AGENDA  Briefing Item No. 11d                                 Page 2 of 3 
Meeting Date: March 9, 2021 
have also worked to improve the program quality and equity each year. All opportunities now
have a focus on not just raising awareness, but also developing the skills needed to succeed in
Port-related industries. 
Faced with a global pandemic, we modified our program with a laser focus on equity. We
deepened existing partnerships and built new ones, including with Muckleshoot and Suquamish
high schools. We designed and offered virtual internships during 2020 when most other
organizations cancelled internships.  However, the virtual programming design  that was
successful in 2020, was significantly less effective in 2021. Many youth were exhausted with the
virtual model after a year of online school. 
We continue to make necessary adjustments to ensure our programs operate equitably within
a regional Career Connected Learning strategy. This year we are designing and implementing
hybrid internship program with Departments and Divisions across the Port. 
PROGRAM UPDATES 
Recruitment 
We work closely with our community and education partners to recruit a diverse cohort
of youth for our high school internship program: 
o  80% of high school interns are youth of color 
o  47% are young women 
We do intentional outreach and advertising to organizations that support youth of color
for our post-secondary programming: 
o  58% of post-secondary interns are youth of color 
o  49% are young women 
Programming 
Port will hire 60 high school and 55 post-secondary interns in 2022 
Port's paid internships offer hybrid and flexible scheduling as appropriate, center on
meaningful  project  work,  and  offer  multiple  opportunities  for  networking  and
mentorship. 
For the first time, the Port's banking contract has engaged our banking partner to
provide financial literacy workshops for our interns. 
Alumni Engagement/Pipeline Development 
A LinkedIn Alumni Group and Alumni engagement surveys go live this year. 
We will be partnering with WFD's Youth Career Launch programming 
Our baseline conversion rates are below: 
o  3.5% of high school interns return as FTEs or post-secondary interns 

Template revised September 22, 2016.

COMMISSION AGENDA  Briefing Item No. 11d                                 Page 3 of 3 
Meeting Date: March 9, 2021 
o  13.5% conversion of post-secondary interns return as FTEs 
2022 COMMUNITY PRIORITIES AND STRATEGIC GOALS 
Community Priorities 
Working with community as expert advisors mirrors the Equity Motion's call to ensure Port
accountability to the public in the integration of equity principles into the Port's work. In 2021,
we hired a WMBE consultant, MeKyel Bailey, to manage a community engagement process
with our partners and former interns. MeKyel gathered feedback and recommendations that
informed our priorities and goals for 2022. 
Our Community Partners Priorities: 
Equity  Ensure youth furthest from opportunity have priority access to the Port's
internship programs. Formalize and publish processes. 
Inclusivity  Include multiple languages in outreach efforts. Offer opportunities for
parents to engage. 
Cultural Awareness    Understand the history between the Port and near Port
communities. Include traditions in outreach and programming. 
Emerging Talent Strategic Goals 
(1) Ensure our program and processes are equitable for communities furthest from
opportunity by nurturing strong partnerships and connections. 
o  Understand history of Port communities 
o  Leverage Port's Equity Index 
(2) Lead high quality inclusive programs designed to develop diverse talent pipelines into
Port of Seattle Careers. 
o  Include families in outreach and showcases 
o  Offer outreach in multiple languages 
o  Include traditions in outreach and programming 
(3) Track  and  demonstrate  outcomes  to  ensure  continued  investment  and  strategic
decision making in our programming. 
o  Formalize and publish processes 
ATTACHMENTS TO THIS BRIEFING 
(1)   Presentation slides 
PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS 
June 23, 2020  The Commission authorized Workforce Development Policy Directive,
Resolution No. 3776 
February 11, 2020  The Commission was briefed on Youth Internship Programs 
November 27, 2018  The Commission was briefed on Youth Internship Programs 
May 9, 2017  The Commission was briefed on Workforce Development Update 

Template revised September 22, 2016.

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