Template revised April 12, 2018.
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
COMMISSION AGENDA – Briefing Item No. 11d Page 2 of 3
Meeting Date: March 9, 2021
Template revised September 22, 2016.
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
COMMISSION AGENDA – Briefing Item No. 11d Page 3 of 3
Meeting Date: March 9, 2021
Template revised September 22, 2016.
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
