SODO Inc. youth employment partnership wins Governor’s Best Practice award

The WDC-led SODO Inc. program, which provides young people with skills training and hands-on work experience in the industrial trades, has won a 2011 Governor’s Best Practice Award for Workforce and Economic Development.

Announced Nov. 16 by Governor Chris Gregoire, the awards recognize projects that benefit both workers and the economy. SODO Inc., a federally funded collaboration between the Workforce Development Council, King County Work Training/YouthSource, South Seattle Community College, and the Manufacturing Industrial Council of Seattle, allows low-income young adults to gain a foothold in the trades.

Press release…

More on the SODO Inc. program…

Almost 250 young people have participated in the program since it began in 2009. The students, 18 to 24 years old, come from disadvantaged backgrounds. Many lack a high-school diploma, speak English as a second language or are ex-offenders.

Program components include:

• Four weeks of hands-on classes at the trades-focused Georgetown campus of South Seattle Community College. The youth learn a wide variety of skills—including tool use, safety, first aid, and basic work habits and attitudes—while learning about apprenticeships as a path to successful careers in the trades.
• Paid four-week internship with a private employer to apply learning on the job. More than 50 employers have hosted interns (who are paid by the program). Most are small companies in the fields of manufacturing, marine, and general trades.
• Individual support through a case manager who provides one-on-one mentoring and career/education planning, as well as assistance with program-related expenses such as boots, tools and transportation.

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