By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
King County Executive Girmay Zahilay has launched YouthWorks, a new workforce development program that will provide more than 200 paid internships and volunteer opportunities for young people ages 16 to 24 this summer.
The program, open to King County residents, is designed to provide hands-on experience across multiple areas of local government while helping participants explore career pathways and contribute to their communities.
YouthWorks brings together opportunities from multiple county departments into a single platform, making it easier for young people to find internships, volunteer opportunities and career pathways while contributing to their communities.
“If we want safer, stronger communities tomorrow, we have to invest in young people today,” said Zahilay. “YouthWorks creates opportunities for young people to gain experience, build confidence, and explore their future while contributing to their communities right now.”
For Zahilay, the initiative is personal.
“I know for me, when I was a young person living in South Seattle in public housing, going to public schools, summer internships and summer jobs were a huge reason why I was able to get a little bit of money for my family and also make the connections I needed to be able to go to college and get my career on the right track,” said Zahilay. “That’s what I want for every young person in King County.”
YouthWorks offers opportunities across a range of county departments and service areas, including public safety, public health, environmental services and recreation.
A key feature of YouthWorks is its grassroots development. Rather than creating the program in a vacuum, county leaders hired a youth initiatives lead who spent the year building the program and collaborating heavily with local youth to test and shape the platform’s accessibility, design and user experience.
County officials said local youth helped test and refine the platform’s design, accessibility and overall user experience before launch.
“We built this program with young people, not just for them, because their voices, ideas, and leadership make this effort stronger,” said Zahilay. “YouthWorks is truly youth-tested and approved.”
Keilani, a youth participant who helped shape the platform, said the process gave young people a meaningful voice in the program’s development.
“Being part of designing this app made me feel heard,” said Keilani. “Like young people finally have a seat at the table.”
Musa, another youth participant who helped test the platform, said the experience reinforced the importance of creating opportunities for future generations.
“I appreciate being part of this process from the beginning. My friends and I are part of a bigger movement to create employment opportunities for our peers within King County,” said Musa.
Keisha Credit, a professional mentor who has spent years helping young people navigate career pathways, said programs like YouthWorks can make the job-search process less intimidating for first-time applicants.
“There are huge benefits because you’re not having to go through such a daunting interview application process,” said Credit. “I can’t imagine being 16 years old and going on Indeed and trying to find a job. So, these opportunities where they say, ‘OK, these are the programs and opportunities available for youth, here’s the pool for you to pick from’—there’s a vetting experience that happens that makes it more intimate and more doable.”
Credit said structured employment opportunities can help young people build confidence, develop professional skills and gain experiences that extend beyond the classroom.
“A lot of real-world learning can happen in environments outside of the classroom and home,” said Credit. “Oftentimes, the kids that have experiences outside of their familiar circles thrive because they’ve been in environments where they’re pushed to belong.”
County leaders also see the program as part of a broader strategy to reduce youth violence by creating pathways to employment and economic opportunity.
“Accessible jobs for young people can help curb youth violence, no doubt,” said Zahilay. “A lot of the reasons that we see young people getting on the wrong track is because they want to make money, they want to support their families, they want to be self-empowered. If you give them a positive option for making money rather than a negative option, then you can set them on a positive path for the rest of their life.”
The program offers 222 paid positions with wages averaging about $29 per hour. Depending on the role and department, participants can earn between $21 and $38 per hour. Volunteer opportunities are also available and may qualify participants for academic credit.
While opportunities are currently limited to King County departments, officials plan to expand the program next year to include private-sector employers and other community-based workplaces.
County leaders say YouthWorks is intended to become a long-term investment in workforce development. The King County 2026-27 biennial budget includes $3.85 million for workforce development initiatives, providing funding support for programs such as YouthWorks.
Credit encouraged families, educators and community members to help young people learn about opportunities like YouthWorks and to support them as they enter the workforce.
“Really encourage our kids to know, you’re going to make mistakes. It’s your first job opportunities, you’re going to mess some things up, and that’s OK,” said Credit. “That’s what you’re there to do is learn and add value to a system. The earlier that kids can start with some type of employment responsibility, the better.”
Applications are now open to eligible King County residents ages 16 to 24 who can commit to the duration of their summer assignment.
“I want young people to go to kcyouthworks.org and start applying now,” said Zahilay. “The jobs are live now. This is not an announcement for something in the future; it’s happening as we speak.”
