COMMISSION 
AGENDA MEMORANDUM                        Item No.          11a 
BRIEFING ITEM                            Date of Meeting       March 9, 2021 
DATE:     February 19, 2012 
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 2020 outcomes and 2021 plans. It also briefly reviews
program history and provides a vision of where we hope to take the program in the future. 
COVID-19 brought both challenges and opportunities in 2020. While our college program was
greatly reduced, our high school program maintained 80% of budgeted hires. By quickly
changing to a community-based selection process and a virtual programming design, we were
able to focus on equity and safety while developing new partnerships with our Muckleshoot
and Suquamish neighbors. 
The new model aligns with the Port's Workforce Development Policy Directive and with
regional Career Connected Learning strategies. 
We are continuing to innovate towards equity in 2021: 
(1) Offering paid and credit earning high school internships every quarter for the first time
at the Port. Goal is 115 high school internships. 
(2) Building multi-quarter internships in partnership with industry partners. 
(3) Leveraging the Port's Equity Index to focus partnership development in communities
most impacted by COVID19. 
(4) Expanding the College internship program to include opportunity youth pursuing
alternative post-secondary education. 
(5) Focusing 2021 recruitment for college internships on graduating seniors who are
experiencing unprecedented unemployment rates. 
BACKGROUND 
In the last six years, the Port has increased its high school internship program more than 12
times over and it has doubled its college program, while keeping expenses flat. Through

Template revised April 12, 2018.

COMMISSION AGENDA  Briefing Item No. 11a__                               Page 2 of 6 
Meeting Date: March 9, 2021 
innovation and community partnerships, we have also worked to improve the program quality 
and equity each year. 
In 2020, faced with a global pandemic, we modified our program with a laser focus on equity. 
While we did see a reduction in internship numbers, particularly at the college level, we were
able to shift quickly and developed innovative solutions to continue offering internships when
many other organizations cancelled their programs altogether. We built new partnerships with
Muckleshoot and Suquamish high schools, offering their youth virtual, paid, and credit-earning
internships. We built new partnerships with El Centro de la Raza and expanded partnerships
with  Community  Passageways  and  Duwamish  Valley  Youth  Corps.  We  recruited  from
communities furthest from opportunity and most impacted by COVID19. We made necessary
process and program changes to ensure we were set up to be more resilient and adaptive
moving forward. 
2015      2016      2017        2018              2019                  2020 
Summer  Summer  Summer  Summer  Fall  Spring  Summer  Fall  Spring  Summer  Fall 
High School       8         68        82        81      11     10       79      17     25       28      25 
Interns 
College and       26        37        38        49      2      1        49      1      1        4       1 
Graduate
Interns 
Total         34      105     120       143            157                84 
2021 AND BEYOND 
Vision: 
Our Internship Programs operate within a regional Career Connected Learning strategy to
achieve human resources' and workforce development's missions. Opportunities have a focus
on Port-related sectors, labor market data, community partnerships, equity, and outcome
metrics. The programs are a model of how to build successful career pipelines for maximum
regional impact. 
Imagine a Port internship program where all participants are: 
Selected by equity-focused community partners that have already begun training them
on Port-related careers, 
Placed into internships at the Port that build upon that curriculum and provide them
with experiences that offer school credit and transferable skills that help them compete
for in-demand jobs, 


Template revised September 22, 2016.

COMMISSION AGENDA  Briefing Item No. 11a__                               Page 3 of 6 
Meeting Date: March 9, 2021 
Connected to post-internship opportunities with industry partners that guide them to
the next step in their career: whether that's an apprenticeship, college, post-secondary
program, another internship, or an entry level job, 
Linked to alumni surveys, engagement events, and social media communications so we
can better track our long-term impact and recruit former interns. 

STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT WITH POLICY AND ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS 
Workforce Development Policy Directive 
Resolution #3776 identifies two goals and several strategies, summarized below, that are the
guiding principles for youth internship programming: 
A.  Goal 1: Increase equitable workforce access for the trades in port-related economic
activities, with an emphasis on expanding opportunities to near-port communities
which are most disproportionately impacted. Port staff will develop program priorities,
actions, benchmarks, and metrics for success. 
1.  Focus  on  workforce  training  and  educationwhere  the  greatest  gaps  and
disparity rankings exist. 
2.  Increase equitable access to port-related industry specific career pathways. 
3.  Adopt career connected learning best practices into Portinternshipswith a
special emphasis on support for opportunity youth. 
B.  Goal 2: Identify and prioritize opportunities for leadership and influence to promote a
sector-based approach to workforce development centered on equity, diversity, and
inclusion. 
1.  Make strategic investments in the maritime, aviation, construction trades, green
careersto leverage the greatest community impact. 
2.  Create targeted emphasis to increase workforce development programs in nearport
communities. 
3.  Create awareness and access to education and career pathways in port-related
industries. 
4.  Foster   partnership   with   community-based   organizations,   educational
institutions, labor, industry stakeholders, and government agencies to maximize
the workforce development impact of the Port of Seattle. 
5.  Coordinate with school districts and other degree-granting institutions to ensure
Port fellows and interns are eligible for CTE credit when available. 
6.  Facilitate the expansion of the Port of Seattle Internship Program 
7.  Support the placement of opportunity youth 16-24 years old in high-quality,
compensated fellowship, internship, and job opportunities at the Port and with
partner organizations to support port-related career connected learning. 


Template revised September 22, 2016.

COMMISSION AGENDA  Briefing Item No. 11a__                               Page 4 of 6 
Meeting Date: March 9, 2021 
Port-Wide Goals and Executive Priorities 
The following 2021 executive priorities also provide guiding principles for youth internship
programming: 
A.  Increase career and business opportunities for local communities in all port-related
industries. 
B.  Advance regional workforce development in port-related industries to provide equitable
access to quality careers. 
C.  Ensure HR programs and policies are reviewed with an equity focus. 
D.  Attract  and  retain  our  employees  by  investing  in  their  success,  growth,  and
development 
E.  Partner and engage with external stakeholders to build healthy, safe and equitable
communities. 
F.   Create durable multi-year Human Resources plan to support effective Capital Delivery
build-up 
Community Priorities and the Equity Motion 
What's missing from the chart below are identified community and educational partner
priorities. We are currently involved in a community engagement process to gather feedback
that can further inform our programming. 
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. 
We will also be leveraging the Port's equity index to inform our outreach and recruitment
priorities  for  the  high  school  internship  program.  By  partnering  with  community-based
organizations and schools that operate within zip codes identified as furthest from opportunity,
we maximize the equitable impact of the Port's investment. 







Template revised September 22, 2016.

COMMISSION AGENDA  Briefing Item No. 11a__                               Page 5 of 6 
Meeting Date: March 9, 2021 
Youth          Workforce   Port-Wide Goals and Executive Priorities 
Development
Internship       Policy 
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A  r P o    v L e  n a     c In  p O    d A  o W    n E  a h    t t  iv    a
e D  f f


A
D      t a
P
S
E
Hire WMBE to run community
advisory process to develop
recommendations on program                     x      x             x              x 
selection, curriculum, and evaluation. 
Expand College Program to include
post-secondary opportunities in            x        x       x      x      x       x       x      x 
partnership with technical programs. 
Offer part-time credit earning
opportunities throughout the year.          x        x                x               x       x 
Partner with community organizations
to select opportunity youth for                         x       x      x      x       x       x 
internships. 
Provide Project-based learning
programming that teaches
transferable skills and focuses on            x                   x      x                x                x 
Career Connected Learning. 
Build multi-quarter internships with
regional industry partners                   x         x       x      x                         x      x 
Apply equity index to identify
outreach and recruitment priority zip       x         x                x      x 
codes. 
Develop leadership training
programming for youth internships 
with focus on project management,        x                 x                                       x 
team development, and networking. 
Offer more internship opportunities at
the Port and in partnership with other                 x       x      x               x 
organizations. 


Template revised September 22, 2016.

COMMISSION AGENDA  Briefing Item No. 11a__                               Page 6 of 6 
Meeting Date: March 9, 2021 
ATTACHMENTS TO THIS BRIEFING 
(1)   Presentation slides 
(2)   Workforce Development Policy Directive 
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.