The Port partners with local schools and organizations to hold career awareness events that inspire young adults to pursue promising careers in port-related industries, such as public safety, construction and engineering, maritime, and more.
The airport and seaport support some of the region’s largest job sites, and port-related businesses and occupations remain a good source of quality, family-wage jobs, offering stability and growth opportunities. In 2018, more than half of the Seattle-King County aviation and maritime jobs paid more than $30 per hour, and almost two-thirds of construction jobs paid more than $30 per hour.
Career Exploration
By introducing the next generation of workers to port careers, the Port is creating equitable opportunities in communities near the airport and seaport that are disproportionally impacted by operations. The Port believes that the workforce should represent the communities we serve and that impacted communities must have access to living wage jobs near home.
Workforce Development
Creating awareness and pathways for port-related careers is a central tenet of the Port’s Workforce Development strategy.
On June 23, 2020, the Port Commission adopted a Workforce Policy Directive to meet the Century Agenda strategic objective of increasing equitable access for workers in port-related economic activities.
The Port’s new strategy and workforce development initiatives will ease the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by connecting employers to innovative and engaged employees while creating opportunities in communities where they are most needed.
COVID-19 Response
To meet physical distancing guidelines, many of these events are going virtual. Check this page to learn more about recent events.
Because underrepresented communities have been disproportionately impacted by the economic impacts of COVID-19, introducing young people in these communities to promising career pathways is more important than ever. As we work toward an equitable recovery, the Port is committed to creating a qualified talent tool for highly skilled, higher-wage jobs in port-related industries.
Port Events
Aviation
Airport-based career awareness events help expand economic opportunities for individuals and industries in the communities we serve and build a future workforce for airport and related industries. The Port works closely with the Highline School District and other districts to offer annual career awareness events featuring port-related careers in fields including engineering, public safety, skilled trades, information, communications and technology (ICT), construction and design, and airport dining and retail. These events rely on the successful partnerships between school district staff, teachers, port staff, and a committed departmental sponsor who can rally resources and staff to participate.
The Airports and the Environment High School Curriculum is an annual project-based learning educational program at Raisbeck Aviation High School that showcases atypical aviation careers, particularly those connected to the environment. The Port helps to develop one-month intensive curriculum and a culminating project (“Environmental Challenge”) for the school’s sophomore class. Based on the curriculum’s annual theme, departments throughout the port are recruited to participate, along with external partners that have included the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Sound Transit, Alaska Airlines, and the City of SeaTac.
Aviation events:
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Contact Marco Milanese.
Maritime
The Port is working to build the next generation of an inclusive and diverse maritime workforce with technological expertise and access to living-wage jobs. Our maritime career awareness events help young people in historically underrepresented communities discover new opportunities in the maritime industry they may not have otherwise considered.
The Youth Maritime Collaborative brings together 20 organizations that focus on low-income youth and youth of color to increase maritime career awareness and career-connected learning activities. A partnership with the Washington Alliance for Better Schools provides professional development for middle and high school teachers and curriculum development tied to port-related sectors.
Maritime events:
- Contact Tiffany Sevilla.
