The Seattle Youth Employment Program (SYEP) supports young people (ages 16 to 24) from qualifying-income households and communities that experience racial, social, and economic disparities. The goal is to increase youth and young adults' ability to pursue careers that pay well and are meaningful to them.
The Seattle Youth Employment Program (SYEP) features two programs to help you develop skills for life and work that will help achieve your current and future goals:
Program Flyer — Learn & Earn: Foundations vs. Pathways comparison
SYEP offers Pathways for those who have a career sector already in mind. Career Pathways is an intensive, intermediate-advanced level training program where participants receive technical training in their chosen career track and are provided support from dedicated staff members to prepare them for entry-level professional internship/job experience(s).
Participants within this program also receive job readiness skills training and workshops from subject matter experts and are provided opportunities to job shadow and interview professionals within their chosen career field. Participants earn a stipend to help support them while studying.
Up to six months, depending on program track. For more information on duration and logistics, please email syep@seattle.gov.
Apply now at https://youthconnect.powerappsportals.us.
The application period for the 2026 Internship Program, which ran from March 18-May 5, is now closed.
The employer application period closed on March 13.
Opportunities to support youth and young adults in their career journey by providing in-demand internship opportunities. Per our participant data, youth are looking for employment opportunities and experiences in some of the following career fields:
After Submitting an Application
The Employer Engagement team will review applications for completion. If we require any additional information, we will reach out before our application deadline. Once the deadline has passed, we will begin our matching process in early May with the prospective interns.
By mid-May, we will reach out to all prospective employer sites regarding their application status. Those who receive an intern will be able to then check in the Employer Portal (using your User Account login) and indicate how many youth have been placed and their contact information. If you have been selected to host an intern, you will follow the steps below for Internship Readiness.
Internship Readiness Steps:
Please note, as much as we would like to host every interested employer, we cannot guarantee placement of interns at every site due to intern onboarding completion, intern removal or dropping from program, and/or a limited number of interns or interest in a particular internship.
If you have an area of expertise that you would like to share with our program participants, we offer a Learn and Earn program during the fall to springtime during which we facilitate weekly workshops on career and job skill development. Some examples of workshops facilitated in previous cohort years and are of interest to our participants are:
If there are any other ways you would like to support SYEP youth (e.g., mentorship, job shadowing), please reach out to our engagement team via e-mail: syepemprelations@seattle.gov.
Applications for Learn & Earn: Foundations closed on Sept. 25.
Program flyer — Learn & Earn: Foundations Vs. Pathways comparison
SYEP offers Career Foundations for those who are new to the workforce world and for those in need of key industry soft skills development to become competitive candidates for any position they apply for.
Participants within this program receive job readiness skills training and career planning workshops from dedicated, trained staff while receiving 1:1 intensive support to help with personal and professional development. Program participants can earn a stipend to honor their commitment to the program and furthering their career-readiness.
Stipends of $325 are paid at the end of each module. In order to qualify for the stipend, the participant will need to meet all stipend requirements, which include attending a certain number of workshops within the module and completing all required assessments and assignments.
Stipends are paid via check through our Finance Department. The availability of the check will be communicated by program staff prior to check disbursements.
October 2026 to March 2027 (tentative) — 2-hour weekly sessions
Cohort-based workshops are led weekly by an SYEP staff member or subject matter expert and run approximately two hours per week.
Examples of workshop topics that will be offered include:
We also offer opportunities for participants to receive real-time training from industry professionals in the form of workshops and field trips during the duration of the program.
To be eligible, you must:
| # In Household | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Maximum Gross Yearly Income | $81,700 | $93,350 | $105,000 | $116,650 | $126,000 | $135,350 | $144,650 | $154,000 |
Please read all program requirements before applying. You will not be considered for the program if you do not meet all requirements, so please ensure that your application is accurate.
We have a list of acceptable documentation:
English | አማርኛ | Español | Oromiffa | af Soomaali | Tagalog | Tiếng Việt | 简体中文
Translated documents last updated July 2023. If you have any additional questions, please contact us at SYEP@seattle.gov.
Yes. However, you must be 16 years old by the start date of the program you are applying to.
For the Learn and Earn: Foundations and Pathways Program, this is not a requirement to participate but to receive any compensation for participation (stipend) you will need a valid SSN or ITIN.
For the Internship Program, you are required to provide proof of authorization to work in the U.S. Without a SSN, you cannot participate in the Internship Program.
Internships change every year. Internship development is an ongoing process and jobs are added frequently. We offer positions in office administration, information technology (IT), City of Seattle departments, childcare and education, medical, food industry, construction, camp counseling, community art projects, and more!
We are always looking to create new relationships with companies and community organizations. Refer employers you know to our program.