WDC Partners with Jobs for the Future to Advance Youth Career Navigation
The Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County (WDC) is proud to announce a new partnership with Jobs for the Future (JFF), made possible through funding from the Schultz Family Foundation. This collaboration represents an exciting opportunity to shape the future of youth career exploration in King County — ensuring young people have access to the tools, guidance, and support they need to thrive.
Through this partnership, WDC will beta test a new digital career pathways tool designed to give youth a single platform to explore diverse career options. Feedback gathered during the testing process will guide how WDC integrates the tool into the WorkSource system and partner organizations, ensuring it meets the real needs of local young people and practitioners.
In addition to piloting this new tool, the $30,000 grant will help expand WDC’s Workforce Practitioner Academy (WPA) into the youth workforce space. The WPA provides free professional development, coaching, and nationally recognized certifications for frontline staff who guide job seekers through career pathways. Extending this training to youth practitioners will strengthen regional capacity, ensuring more consistent, equitable, and human-centered career navigation services for young adults.
“This partnership builds on our ongoing work to make career navigation more accessible, data-informed, and person-centered,” said Marisol Tapia Hopper, Director of Strategic Partnerships and Funding. “By engaging youth directly in testing and design, we’re helping shape a tool — and a system — that reflects their voices and experiences.”
The WDC’s Sheena Clarke, Youth Project Manager, will lead project implementation, working closely with partners including ACE Academy, Puget Sound Educational Service District, and Community Passage Ways. Together, these efforts will enhance how local workforce practitioners connect youth to quality, in-demand jobs and strengthen the long-term career ecosystem in King County.
This initiative aligns with WDC’s mission to catalyze system change and create equitable pathways to prosperity for workers, employers, and communities throughout the Puget Sound region.