1                                                                                 Agenda Item: 10a_Order 
2                                                                                 Meeting Date: April 12, 2022 
3 
4 
5                                               ORDER NO. 2022-05 
6                          AN ORDER OF THE PORT OF SEATTLE COMMISSION 
7 
8                           To increase the three-year investment in the Maritime Career
9                           Launch Pilot Program from $2.1 million to $4.1 million.
10 
11                                                  PROPOSED 
12                                               APRIL 12, 2022 
13 
14 
15                                               INTRODUCTION 
16 
17    In 2021, the Port of Seattle Commission engaged community stakeholders in a series of 13
18    listening sessions related to the Port's role in economic recovery from the effects of the COVID-
19    19 pandemic. During these listening sessions, Commissioners repeatedly heard about the need for
20    additional workforce development efforts, increased visibility of Port industry-related jobs in
21    communities of color, and expanded access to quality, living-wage jobs for Black, Indigenous, and
22    people of color (BIPOC) communities across King County.
23 
24    One of the ways the Port has responded to this community call to action is to double down on
25    increasing access to maritime career programs and opportunities. The Commission approved three
26    critical programs for 2022: 
27 
28         Career Launch Program 
29         Maritime High School 
30         Maritime Industry Leadership Table 
31 
32    This programming was matched with $2.4 million in funding and will support the framework for 
33    a comprehensive and connected regional strategy for the future of maritime employment in King
34    County and beyond. This additional investment was identified from cruise revenue that is
35    anticipated to exceed 2022 budget projections. 
36 
37                                            TEXT OF THE ORDER 
38 
39    The Port Commission directs the Executive Director to increase the three-year investment in the
40    Maritime Career Launch Pilot Program from $2.1 million to $4.1 million. The $2 million increase
41    in funding will support maritime-focused career launch opportunities and programming. 
42 
43    The Executive Director shall report to the Commission by no later than June 14, 2022, with a draft
44    strategy that identifies collaborations with partner institutions and the resources necessary to
45    connect  youth  in  the  Port  Maritime  Career  Launch  Pilot  Program  to  maritime-focused

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46    apprenticeships, post-secondary institutions with paid work-based learning, or secondary career or
47    technical education requirements and other options. 
48 
49                                  STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF THE ORDER 
50 
51    Maritime Career Launch Program 
52    The centerpiece of the Port's youth workforce efforts will be the Maritime Career Launch Program.
53    The Commission's investment currently totals $2.1 million over three years. The $2 million
54    funding increase proposed in this Order will bolster a program that will provide career launch
55    opportunities in the maritime industry for Puget Sound youth and adults aged 16-24 years. This
56    program will focus on youth from historically disadvantaged (and disproportionally BIPOC)
57    communities and vulnerable populations. This new program will: 
58        1.  Build partnerships between maritime industry employers with career-connected learning
59            programs; 
60        2.  Work collaboratively with regional partners, including government agencies, industry
61            partners and community-based organizations to co-create career connected curriculum
62            based on Port core competencies; 
63        3.  In collaboration with industry and workforce partners, identify core competencies and
64            related skills necessary to place interns in entry-level maritime jobs;
65        4.  Leverage the Port funding by partnering, where feasible, with regional stakeholders; 
66        5.  Provide training programs for youth to learn those core competencies and skills; and
67        6.  Upon completion of the program, place qualified candidates in a three-month Career
68            Launch internship in an entry-level, living wage position that can lead to consideration for
69            full-time employment by a maritime employer.
70 
71    From shipbuilding to commercial fishing, to cruise, to logistics and shipping, nearly 70,000
72    Washingtonians work in the maritime industry. While women and nonbinary workers have been
73    part of the maritime industry for generations, their demographic representation is disproportionally
74    small when compared to men. This lack of representation is particularly concerning in the context
75    of the national maritime labor crisis, where the average age in the maritime workforce is 55. The
76    Port will continue to leverage its position as an anchor institution to expand access to maritime
77    and aviation careers for underrepresented populations. 
78 
79    This impending wave of retirements in the maritime workforce presents a unique opportunity to
80    ensure the next generation of workers in the maritime industry is truly representative of the
81    diversity of King County. The time is ripe to double down on the Port's investment in young
82    women and youth of color. 
83 
84    This order will allocate $2 million additional focused on maritime programs and opportunities to
85    increase the Port's investment in the Maritime Career Launch Pilot Program (CLP) from $2.1
86    million to $4.1 million over three years. 
87 
88    These additional resources will allow the Port to double the number of young people engaged in
89    this program, and allow the program to more rapidly achieve its goals while strengthening the
90    region's maritime career pipeline. 
91 

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92    This Maritime Career Launch Pilot Program will also be conducted as part of the evolving strategic
93    plan for OEDI that will include research to better understand the current and future workforce
94    needs across the maritime industry in our region. Program development will include means to
95    measure and monitor outcomes in ways that help provide transparency while also respecting that
96    breaking barriers can mean transformative approaches to how data is collected and analyzed as
97    well. 


















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