Mayor Durkan Significantly Expands Seattle Promise Job and Career Pathways to Connect Students with Paid Internships with Local Employers and the City of Seattle

Seattle (Feb. 18, 2020) – As part of her 2020 State of the City address, Mayor Jenny A. Durkan announced the expansion of Seattle Promise Job and Career Pathways, previously a pilot program, which offers Seattle Promise students the chance to apply for full-time, paid summer internships with Seattle’s top employers. In 2020, this program will allow Seattle Promise students to be directly connected with 40 paid summer internships with local employers and up to 85 internships administered by the City of Seattle.  

Participating industries range from tech and biotech companies to engineering and life sciences to labor unions. City of Seattle internships and career development opportunities will be available to Seattle Promise students through the Seattle Youth Employment Program, the Creative and Cultural Workforce Development program, and the Seattle Citywide internship program.  

“To build an equitable future, we have to invest in true opportunities for our young people and ensure their place in the new economy. Seattle Promise Job and Career Pathways is laying the groundwork now to build a pipeline of local talent so that in the future, employers from our biggest companies to newest start-ups to labor organizations to our own City workforce will have grown through local talent,” said Mayor Durkan. “As a City, it’s our responsibility to help students learn about potential career pathways and make professional connections so they can access good-paying jobs once they finish school.”  

Seattle Promise Job and Career Pathways will help students gain work experience, learn about career options and make professional connections, all while building their resumes and getting paid. Local employers can interact with students while they are still deciding on their career paths and show them how to get from where they are to where they want to be. 

A full list of confirmed 2020 Seattle Promise Career Pathways employers is below:  

Seattle Promise Job and Career Pathways will be jointly facilitated by Seattle Colleges and the Mayor’s Office, with support from the Human Services Department, the Office of Economic Development, the Office of Arts & Culture, the Department of Education and Early Learning and the Department of Human Resources. Any employers interested in participating in Seattle Promise Job and Career Pathways should contact Erica Johnson at Erica.Johnson2@seattle.gov. 

“Seattle has always been our home, and we’re proud to help build a pipeline of local talent as a 2020 Seattle Promise Job and Career Pathways employer,” said Andrew Beers, Chief Technology Officer at Tableau and co-chair of the Mayor’s Innovation Advisory Council. “It is a great chance to help Seattle Promise students learn more about potential career paths and develop important data skills that are relevant in our changing economy. It is also a wonderful channel for us to connect with a generation of talented, ambitious young Seattleites who will make up a big part of the technology industry’s continued growth in our community.” 

“Seattle Promise Job and Career Pathways connected me with a great internship at Amazon, where I learned new skills, like how major companies recruit employees, project management and interview skills,” said Anthony Garcia, a 2019 Seattle Promise Job and Career Pathways student. “It was great to have a summer job that both paid well and taught me new skills that I’m excited to use once I graduate and beyond.”  

“At SEIU Healthcare 1199NW Training Fund, we’re all about serving our communities and investing in a healthcare workforce in the Seattle area. That’s why we’re a proud 2020 Seattle Promise Job and Career Pathways employer,” said Laura Hopkins, Executive Director of the Training Fund. “We know that advancing careers in the healthcare industry locally improves medical care for all, and helps Washington State meet its goal for a highly diverse and educated healthcare workforce. With Seattle Promise, we’re investing in students so they can enter the workforce and get good-paying jobs once they finish school.”  

This year, all 399 members of the 2020 Seattle Promise cohort are eligible to participate in Seattle Promise Job and Career Pathways. Expanding access to opportunity for young people has been one of the central focuses of Mayor Durkan’s administration. Shortly after taking office, she created the Seattle Promise to provide free college at any of the Seattle Colleges. Seattle Promise, which builds off Seattle College’s 13^th Year Scholarship Program, is now available to every high school senior in Seattle Public Schools. Enrollment for the 2020 – 2021 academic year closed Feb. 15, and Seattle Colleges received 1,761 interest forms from students.  

In addition to expanding access to post-secondary education, the Mayor has worked to increase investments in early childhood education and childcare. Thanks to Seattle voters’ approval of the Families, Education, Preschool and Promise levy, the nationally-recognized Seattle Preschool Program will grow significantly over seven years to serve 2,500 children in the 2025-26 school year. The Mayor has also expanded the City’s Childcare Assistance Program to serve up to 600 new children in 2020.