Youth Employment

Stepping stones for the Future Workforce

Why Youth Employment?

In 2021, the Washington Workforce Training & Education Coordinating Board released a youth employment outlook post the COVID-19 pandemic. In the report, youth employment is highlighted as important because:

The more young people work earlier in their lives, the more likely they are to work in the future. This has significant implications on the long-term labor supply.
The more time teens and young adults spend disconnected from employment and education, the more likely they will be jobless, poor, or dependent on government assistance programs.
Lower teen labor force participation reduces future productivity, and harms future GDP growth.
Work experience provides young people with social skills, and helps them to navigate various professional relationships while at work.
Early work experience helps young workers move beyond entry-level jobs, gain experience in different workplace settings, and knowledge of specific occupational skills.
Summer jobs help keep teens from engaging in risky behavior when they’re away from school.
Working in high school is correlated with better economic futures than those who don’t work.

Benefits of Youth Employment

There are many benefits for youth to pursue employment opportunities. These benefits include:

Teaches responsibility, organization, time management
Helps to establish good work habits, experience, and financial stability
Youth who have been employed can be more marketable and competitive in the work environment because they have gained the skills the employers seek.

Resources for Youth Employment

Professional Development

Create & Enhance Your Professional Portfolio

Bellevue Center for Career Connections

The Bellevue Center for Career Connections, part of the RISE learning institute, is a resource for students, alumni, community members, and employers to receive employment related assistance and expand their education. Book an on-campus or online appointment with them for your employment assistance needs!

Phone: 425-564-2279

Email: careers@bellevuecollege.edu

Bellevue College can assist you with:

Resume building, cover letters, interviewing skills, and workshops
Job training
Internship/Apprenticeship
One on one assistance (30-min sessions)

WorkSource King County

WorkSource King County provides a variety of employment resources free of charge including customized employment assistance, career navigation and training resources. WorkSource helps with online job search, computer access, training, workshops and hiring events. One-on-one support is also available to identify individualized training and navigation of resources.

WorkSource King County can assist you with:

Resume building, cover letters, interviewing skills, and workshops
Job training
Job Search
Internship/Apprenticeship
One on one assistance

Youth Program Finder - CareerOneStop

Career One Stop is the flagship career, training, and job search website for the U.S. Department of Labor. Find free job, career, and training assistance through a local youth program. Different programs may offer different services, so it's best to contact a few.

CareerOneStop can assist you with:

Resume building, cover letters, interviewing skills, and workshops
Job training
Internship/Apprenticeship

Develop Your Skills

Become More Marketable through Training and Upskilling Opportunities

Career Bridge

Career Bridge Washington features a catalog of over 6500+ Washington education programs all in one place.

Career Bridge offers the following resources:
Job training (Eligible Training Provider List)
Job Search (Catalog)
Internship/Apprenticeship (Catalog)

CareerOneStop

Career One Stop is the flagship career, training, and job search website for the U.S. Department of Labor. The website serves job seekers, businesses, students, and career advisors with a variety of free online tools, information and resources.

Career One Stop can assist you with:
Job training
Job Search
Internship/Apprenticeship

Soft Skills to Pay the Bills

"Skills to Pay the Bills: Mastering Soft Skills for Workplace Success," is a curriculum developed by the Office of Disability Employment Policy focused on teaching "soft" or workforce readiness skills to youth. It is an introduction to workplace interpersonal and professional skills that focuses on communication, work enthusiasm and attitude, teamwork, networking, problem solving & critical thinking, and professionalism

Free and Low-Cost Training Resources

Training can help to brush up on skills such as English, Math, and Digital Literacy and are also great avenues to mastering more specialized skills like software programs or accounting. Some free and low-cost options include:

Khan Academy offers free online learning in school subjects at levels from junior high through college.
Coursera and Academic Earth both offer free online college classes through video lecture, quizzes, and readings.
Find a local library to ask what training or workshops they offer.
Contact your local school district or community organization to see what training is available to the public.

Find a Job

Explore Employment Opportunities

Career Connect WA Career Directory

Find employment opportunities using the career directory all across the state

WorkSource WA

Search for jobs by title or your interests. Create an account for access to more resources including a resume template, job saver dashboard, workshops, and more

Other Job Boards (Provided by WorkSource WA)

Greater Puget Sound:

National:

Monster.com is the world's largest commercial Job Board, recently acquired HotJobs to become Yahoo's exclusive provider of career and job content. Find a job, post your resume, research careers, compare salaries and get career advice.

US.jobs is provided by leading U.S. employers in alliance with the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA) as a public service for all employers and all job seekers.

Indeed.com is a search engine for jobs, allowing job seekers to find jobs posted on thousands of company career sites and job boards. Search job sites, newspapers, associations and company career pages.

Simply Hired is a search engine company which hopes to build the largest online database of jobs on the planet. Their goal is to make finding your next job a simple yet effective, enjoyable journey.

CareerBuilder, owned by three of the nation's largest newspaper chains, CareerBuilder is the nation's second largest recruitment resource.

Specialty:

Technology Alliance Group for Northwest Washington
The TAG Technology Job Board is a resource for technology jobs in Whatcom County. Find entry-level to executive technology jobs in IT, software development, networking, engineering, higher education, manufacturing, quality assurance, research and development and more.

College Recruiter.com
Featuring hundreds of thousands of internships for college students and entry level jobs for recent graduates. Selected by WEDDLE's as a Top Job Board 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010.

CoolWorks
Find a seasonal job or career in some of the greatest places on Earth. Get a summer job in a national park, ski resorts, ranches, theme parks, and tour companies.

DICE.com
National job board tailored to independent contractors in the high tech industry. Searchable by state, area code, keywords, and type of employment - eg. Contract, Full Time, etc.

GettingHired.com
GettingHired is committed to helping people with disabilities reach their full potential in the workplace, and increasing their visibility to prospective employers. Our mission goes hand-in-hand with yours: advocating for the rights and dignity of individuals living with disabilities.

Explore Different Careers

Find Your Career Path

Washington Career Bridge

Explore careers by taking a quiz, observe occupations that are in demand and decline, and find resources to start building your career pathway

Career Connect WA

Use the directory to find events and opportunities that showcases different jobs

My Next Move - CareerOneStop

Explore careers or take an interest assessment

Internships

Find Internship Opportunties

Career Connect WA Career Directory

Find internship opportunities using the career directory all across the state

Chegg Internships

Search and browse for internship opportunities that match your interests

Pacific Northwest National Library

Internship opportunities in STEM and business fields for high school, undergraduate, or graduate students. Internships can be completed either during the summer or during the academic year. Use the PNNL Job Search Tool