Current Partners and Projects
African Community Housing and Development The Career Supports for African Diaspora Immigrants and Refugees Program will provide year-round career navigation for adult job-seekers in aviation and other port-related industries. Participants receive one-on-one coaching, resume and interview support, and connections to job opportunities at SEA and beyond. (Funded from 2025-2027 for $275,000)
BIPOC Apostrophe trains youth from 18 to 25 years old in the areas of aircraft cargo management, logistics centers and warehouse activities, and aircraft marshaling. (Funded from 2023-2025 for $249,920)
Boys and Girls Club of King County Through the YouthForce Program, economically vulnerable youth ages 16–24 in South King County cities can explore pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship pathways in construction trades. Participants gain hands-on experience, certifications, and career coaching to prepare for well-paying jobs in the sector. (Funded from 2025-2028 for $274,957.00)
Build 2 Lead facilitates Closing the G.A.P. (Gaining Access to Preparation) program and partners with Green River College and Highline College to provide 100 hours of construction trades and green jobs training, case management curriculum, and development of college readiness plans for youth and young adults from economically distressed zip codes. (Funded from 2024-2026 for $250,000)
Cares of WA The Career Advancement Program is available year-round to help participants facing significant barriers to opportunity learn about, prepare for, enter, and complete pre-apprenticeship programs. They also provide support for pre-apprenticeship participants to enter and transition into apprenticeship programs in construction trades. (Funded from 2025-2027 for $275,000)
Casa Latina builds on experience recruiting, training, and ensuring Latino workers have the skills and training needed to obtain jobs in the construction industry. This program includes case management and wraparound services to support men, women, and young adults. (Funded from 2023-2026 for $248,957)
Construct Diversity provides pathways into construction trades through a comprehensive curriculum for youth from economically distressed zip codes based on the Equity Index in South King County. The Career Advancement Program youth will receive professional skills development, career readiness training, job site exposure, peer support within port-related jobs and careers, and career advancement through construction trade internships, pre-apprenticeships, or employers. (Funded from 2024-2026 for $250,000)
Emerald Cities Collaborative provides outreach, assessment, training, and placement into training/apprenticeship programs and careers, such as electrical, mechanical, and sheet metal trades through their Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Training and Career Prep Academy to members of excluded communities in South King County. (Funded from 2024-2026 for $250,000)
International Rescue Committee is building a diverse transportation workforce through a comprehensive career pathway program called Transportation Career Pathway. The program assists refugees and immigrants in South King County in obtaining their Commercial Driver License (CDL), and by providing individualized coaching, job placement, and partnerships with training programs. (Funded from 2024-2026 for $250,000)
Latino Civic Alliance The Building Future Industry Leaders (BFIL) Program will provide comprehensive career prep and readiness services to individuals from underrepresented communities living and/or working in the eligible South King County cities, targeting individuals who are Latino, Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC), and/or low-income. The project is a hybrid cohort training and year-round career navigation program designed to facilitate access to jobs and careers in port-related industries. (Funded from 2025-2027 for $275,000)
Orion Industries Through its Aerospace Manufacturing for the Future Program, Orion offers paid, transitional training in aerospace manufacturing. Participants gain technical and soft skills, reduce barriers to employment, and build confidence while preparing for jobs in aviation. The program targets participants from underrepresented communities, such as communities of color, refugees and immigrants, individuals who speak limited English, individuals with disabilities, and other structurally excluded communities who live in the eligible South King County region. (Funded from 2025-2028 for $272,925.00)
Progress House Association is expanding its trades experience into direct youth programming with the S.T.E.P. (Skilled Trades Exploration & Preparation) Program, which introduces high school students to construction careers through a school-year cohort model. Focused on BIPOC youth at Cleveland High School and in Beacon Hill, the program combines classroom education with hands-on training and certification. (Funded from 2025-2027 for $275,000.00)
Puget Sound Welcome Back Center (Highline College Foundation) prepared internationally educated engineers for jobs in construction-related fields near the Port of Seattle. Even though many have college degrees, they lack the proper credentials to work in the US in their chosen profession. This project removed those barriers by providing resources in port-related industries, including Test Preparation Courses as part of the licensure process for construction-related fields, and Strategic Training and Certifications such as Concrete Field Technician, CAD Training, and Construction Management courses. (Funded from 2024-2026 for $238,621)
Refugee Women’s Alliance will help refugees and immigrants navigate case management and trainings and provide career development support to enter port-related industry jobs and careers in the Career Pathways for Immigrants and Refugees. (Funded from 2024-2026 for $250,000)
Success Foundation with Seattle Southside Chamber of Commerce The Workforce Discovery Lab offers high school students a two-week immersive experience through career prep and readiness training, hands-on simulation opportunities, and career coaching across port-related industries. (Funded from 2025-2028 for $275,000.00)
Serve Ethiopians The Workforce Readiness Program supports East African immigrants and refugees through two tracks: aviation and green jobs. Participants receive career coaching, training, and job navigation services, including youth-focused environmental career programs in partnership with Forterra. (Funded from 2025-2027 for $275,000.00)
WA Maritime Blue The Youth Maritime Accelerator Project is running a paid, eight-week seasonal internships cohort program for young adults from underrepresented communities living and/or working in South King County to explore maritime careers. (Funded from 2025-2028 for $275,000.00)
World Relief The Economic Opportunities for Refugee and Immigrant Communities Project supports newly arrived residents through career preparation in aviation. Participants receive culturally responsive coaching, skills development, and job placement services to achieve financial stability and long-term career growth. (Funded from 2025-2028 for $274,921.93)
Past Partners and Projects
Aerospace Joint Apprenticeship Committees (AJAC)’s Manufacturing Academy is an aviation and maritime-focused pre-apprenticeship program for South King County residents. It is offered to participants at no cost and provides a solid foundational career pathway into aerospace and advanced manufacturing fields. The program offers college credits and the opportunity to earn industry-recognized certificates of completion. (Funded from 2022-2025 for $250,000)
African Chamber of Commerce of the Pacific Northwest (ACCPNW) worked with highly impacted Black-owned businesses to support them on both technical assistance for compliance with the Clean Truck Program and provide Small Business COVID-19 Recovery and Resiliency Program and Youth and Adults Workshops. (Funded from 2021-2022 for $100,000)
African Chamber of Commerce of the Pacific Northwest (ACCPNW)'s African Drayage Trucking Business Support Project (ADT-BUS) provides business technical support to drivers to help their trucking businesses survive and grow. Education on small business management will ensure trucking business entrepreneurs serving Port facilities can successfully run their own businesses. (Funded from 2023-2025 for $250,000)
African Community Housing and Development supported the African Diaspora immigrant communities in South King County with a pilot program to provide workforce development in the form of education and job application assistance in technical Port-related industries such as construction and aviation. (Funded from 2021-2022 for $99,903)
Asian Counseling and Referral Service partnered with UFCW Local 21, which represents workers from Hudson News who have been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Workers are connected to ACRS employment case management services for culturally competent job search assistance in port-related industries. This project provided workforce development assistance to aviation retail workers. (Funded from 2022-2023 for $70,000)
Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking (BEST) serves human trafficking survivors and at-risk youth living in the near-airport communities of Burien, Des Moines, Federal Way, Normandy Park, SeaTac, and Tukwila. This project furthers economic recovery in South King County by delivering employment readiness training, supporting employers in port-related industries, and creating paid internships and job opportunities for human trafficking survivors and at-risk youth in Port-related industries. (Funded from 2022-2025 for $250,000, and from 2021-2022 for $99,985)
Boys and Girls Club of King County’s YouthForce program, in partnership with 7GEN and SIXR, connects economically vulnerable opportunity youth from communities near the airport to pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship training pathways in green technology and advanced manufacturing. (Funded from 2023-2025 for $250,000)
CARES of Washington supports people with disabilities and low incomes to realize their purpose, potential, and strength. The Connect for Success project supports BIPOC communities living around Port of Seattle’s facilities to enter and successfully complete pre-apprenticeship programs in Port-related industries such as construction, green industries, manufacturing, and aerospace. (Funded from 2022-2025 for $249,930)
Chief Seattle Club Native Works, a trauma-informed indigenous-designed job training program, launched Sovereignty Farm, an urban Indian farm located in Tukwila, with green jobs for homeless American Indian/Alaska Native Apprentices. Apprentices learn about land and water stewardship, garden design and planning, and invasive species removal, preparing them for green jobs at Port habitat sites on the Duwamish River. (Funded from 2021-2022 for $100,000)
El Centro de la Raza provided extensive outreach, education, and referrals for Latinos and other multicultural program participants to relevant pre-apprenticeship programs in port-related industries such as the construction trades to obtain permanent employment, focusing on communities surrounding the new Federal Way office. (Funded from 2021-2022 for $99,985, and from 2022-2024 for $250,000)
Evergreen (Seattle) Goodwill’s Project supports youth facing barriers who are interested in exploring aerospace and green careers and help them prepare for further education or careers. The students participate in the Youth Aerospace Program in South King County (YAP South), which builds confidence, social skills, and knowledge of the aerospace sector while also providing invaluable social capital, professional networks, and paid work experience in the aerospace sector. (Funded from 2022-2025 for $249,900)
Key Tech Labs prepares participants to secure quality employment in green jobs through a hybrid learning environment. Through the in-person portion of the program, participants will work directly with sub-partner Dynamic Waters LLC, to learn about stormwater management and installation of rain gutter systems. Another sub-partner, Yes Farm, will train participants on invasive plant removal and urban gardening. Participants will construct greenhouses with Garden of Eden Urban Farming and they will receive hands-on experience in the maintenance, installation, and upkeep of solar panels with KB Electric and in green construction projects with Henry’s Landing LLC. (Funded from 2022-2025 for $246,864)
Latino Civic Alliance Building Future Industry Leaders (BFIL) is an Apprenticeship program with a focus on different trades (Marine Technology Technicians, Software Development (related to maritime digitalization), and Carpenters) to include LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental design) certification and Transportation CDL Training School. BFIL will partner with contractors, unions, and employers to make sure students who graduate from the program will meet the industry skill standards. (Funded from 2022-2024 for $250,000)
Neighborhood House Aviation Technology Career Pathways the Upskill/Backfill project model consists of career pipelines in aviation technology and manufacturing through partnerships with training providers and employers. The goal is to connect job seekers with career pathways that lead to career advancement and wage progression in the aviation sector. (Funded from 2022-2025 for $250,000)
Partner in Employment provides economic security and mentorship to newly arrived refugees and immigrants in South King County. This project has two tracts, one that provides support services for immigrant job seekers impacted by COVID-19 in the aviation industry, and the other continues the youth green jobs training program started in the summer of 2020 under the Port’s opportunity motion. (Funded from 2022-2025 for $250,000)
Serve Ethiopians’ New Start program provided outreach and recruitment for immigrant BIPOC ride-share and taxicab drivers to pursue a career as an Aircraft Mechanic at SEA Airport and participate in the “Introduction to Aviation Maintenance Technology (AMT)” course offered by Airport University. (Funded from 2023-2024 for $60,000)
Washington Maritime Blue operates the Maritime Youth Accelerator Project, which aims to provide culturally relevant skills-based learning to prepare young people for livable-wage jobs in the Maritime field. The project is specifically designed for youth of color and opportunity youth from underserved communities, who have an interest in learning about the maritime sector and in designing/developing an entrepreneurial project. (Funded from 2022-2025 for $250,000)
World Relief Seattle strives to boost the local economy by creating clear pathways for refugees and immigrants out of poverty and entry-level jobs into highly skilled, higher-paying jobs at SEA. Partners will achieve this objective through comprehensive employment, work-related wraparound services, and partnerships with existing SEA employers that offer higher-wage jobs ($18-$19+ per hour). (Funded from 2022-2025 for $249,870)
Your Money Matters Mentoring provides participants with construction skills, competencies, experience, and education to secure jobs in the construction industry. In addition, participants are provided with education and mentoring support through the introduction to construction training program. Participants will also obtain certification in Abatement and Demolition. (Funded from 2023-2025 for $200,000)
