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Economic Opportunities for Communities - Current and Past Projects

Current 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)'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)

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’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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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 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)

Past Partners and Projects

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 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)

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)

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)

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)

 

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