Port Jobs Wins Major Grant for "Airport University"

Program to help airport workers go to college

Port Jobs announced today that it has received a two-year, $210,000 grant through a program sponsored by the Academy for Educational Development (AED), and funded by the Lumina Foundation for Education to help low-income airport workers go to college.

The program, to be called Airport University, will focus on those who might not typically attend college or complete a degree program.

"There are many capable people working for airlines and tenants at Sea-Tac Airport who are in entry level jobs," said Port Jobs Board Chair and Port of Seattle Commissioner Paige Miller. "We want to make it possible for those people to get college degrees and move up in their organizations.''

There are more than 19,000 workers employed by airlines and other companies at Sea-Tac. Personal income from Port-related jobs is nearly $7 billion annually.

"The Port's mission is economic development," Miller said. "The most lasting kind of economic development is an educated workforce."

Working with South Seattle Community College and Neighborhood House, Port Jobs will use the grant to:

Let entry-level airport workers know that college is an option for them;

Help employees of airport companies map out career and educational plans;

Develop appropriate classes and schedules to meet their needs;

Identify scholarships and other funding sources;

Provide an on-site career and education counselor at Sea-Tac; and

Start a small support fund for Airport University students facing short-term emergencies that might interfere with their ability to stay in college.

"Working and going to school simultaneously is a significant challenge," said Susan Wilder Crane, Executive Director of Port Jobs. "Our goal is to help with those outside pressures that sometimes keep people from finishing their education. But the most important thing about Airport University is that it will model a unique approach to college access and education, one that we hope will be adopted widely in many sectors of the economy."

Airport University's services will be delivered through Airport Jobs, a Port Jobs program that focuses on the aviation industry. Located in the main terminal at Sea-Tac, Airport Jobs provides one-stop shopping for both aviation employers and those seeking jobs in the aviation industry. Aviation employers can post job openings, and Airport Jobs staff help applicants with resume preparation and job interview skills.

As part of Airport University South Seattle Community College (SSCC) will design classes that teach skills required for work in the aviation industry. SSCC will also explore development of a class schedule around the times that airport employees are able to attend. Sea-Tac has several short peaks of passenger traffic each day, and many employees work split shifts to cover them. That is often not conducive to attendance at either day- or night-time classes.

Now in its 12th year of operation, Port Jobs is a non-profit organization that is closely associated with the Port of Seattle. Port Jobs' mission is to increase access to living wage jobs for all residents of the greater Seattle area.

Port Jobs is best known for its efforts to help airport security screeners after September 11th. When the Transportation Security Administration took over security operations, the Airport Jobs office set up a variety of classes and resources for former screeners. As a result, more than 50 percent of former airline screeners at Sea-Tac qualified for jobs with the TSA. Other U.S. airports averaged less than ten percent retention.

"Those screeners went from part-time minimum wage jobs to well-paid positions with federal benefits. We took a proven track record of helping people advance their careers to AED's grant review committee," Crane said.

Neighborhood House, a community-based organization that is nearly a century old, is dedicated to helping people with limited financial resources attain self-sufficiency and independence.

Academy for Educational Development, a nonprofit educational and social change organization with offices in Washington, D.C. and New York City (www.aed.org), manages this project under Partnerships for College Access and Success. Lumina Foundation for Education (www.luminafoundation.org) is an Indianapolis-based, private foundation dedicated to expanding access and success in education beyond high school.