Clatsop WORKS Program Had an Amazing Summer 2022!

The Clatsop WORKS Program provides local students, ages 16 and up, with professional, paid internship opportunities in Clatsop County, with the goals of community building, economic development, promoting local career opportunities and retaining local talent.

 Goals of the Program:

  • Build a stronger, better trained, more employment-ready local workforce, starting with high school students and Clatsop Community College students.
  • Highlight to businesses the presence and quality of the local workforce.
  • Showcase to students the living-wage career opportunities available in Clatsop County.
  • Help students narrow down career choices before choosing expensive paths to college and trade school degrees.
  • Collaborate and further the goals of other like-minded organizations in the state of Oregon and the United States.

Core Values of the Program:

  • Interns first: Clatsop WORKS internships need to benefit the interns and the goals of the program more than the business. We are not a staffing firm.
  • Business return on investment: creating a better-trained applicant pool.
  • Efficiency in spending: maximizing the investment made by our funding stakeholders to ensure the best possible return on investment.
  • Transparency: Careful tracking of spending and activities throughout the program.
  • Teamwork and collaboration: Connect with other groups with similar goals.
  • Inclusion and accessibility: Ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to participate in the program

The program has achieved the strongest results since the program began five years ago.

Our cohort for summer 2022 was 31 interns hired (representing all schools in Clatsop County). Two interns have already been offered and accepted full-time positions with their host employer to begin after the internship ends, and two additional interns are in consideration for full-time positions with their host employers.

  • Read about our interns individually on our social media via our #MeetTheInterns campaign!

Instagram    https://www.instagram.com/clatsop.works/

Facebook   https://www.facebook.com/Clatsopworks/

Quotable Quotes:

“I received a job offer -they want me to continue on after my internship is over! Thank you so much! Clatsop works has helped me so much in finding out what I want to do, and I wouldn’t have gotten this opportunity without this program.!!!” Delaney, summer 2022 Clatsop WORKS Intern

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to explore careers and learn about the work experience. This experience will help determine what steps I take upon graduating and give me a template to use for my future career path.” Kaden, summer 2022 Clatsop WORKS Intern

“I thought an internship through Clatsop WORKS would be a great opportunity to do meaningful work this summer in an area of interest. It’s been great -I’ve learned so much!” Seth, summer 2022 Clatsop WORKS Intern

“Clatsop WORKS offered many internship possibilities in my area of interest.  What excites me is the opportunity to gain some work experience for my future career.” Zander, summer 2022 Clatsop WORKS Intern

 

For 2022, we had 27 host employers registered, with 62 positions, and we had 85 student applicants.

Final results for summer cohort: 20 host employers, 31 interns hired. The 31 interns represent all five Clatsop County high schools, plus Clatsop Community College.

Astoria HS = 14

Warrenton HS = 5

Knappa HS = 2

Seaside HS =4

Jewell HS = 1

Clatsop CC = 5

 

Thank you to our Host Employers for summer 2022:

Astoria Public Library -City of Astoria

Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce

Bree & Associates Realty

Cannon Beach PD

Clatsop County

Coastal Restoration

Columbia Memorial Hospital

Fast Lube & Oil

Fort George Brewery

Hampton Lumber

Haystack Rock Awareness

Helligso Construction Co.

Lower Columbia Preservation Society

Lums Auto

PNW Automotive

Providence Seaside

Safe Harbor Animal Hospital

Seaside School District

Sunset Empire Park & Rec District

Stahancyk, Kent & Hook Law

 

Professional Development was a key part of the program and held on Wednesday mornings throughout the summer, and was a requirement of the employer and employees.

We chose Career Exploration because:

  • Exposure to diverse careers and industries adds value to students’ educational experience as it allows them to better understand the scope of opportunities available to them.
  • Students involved in career exploration learn what the workforce looks like and with a better understanding of what is to come, they are more likely to be motivated when confronted with big life decisions.
  • Career exploration enables students to gain valuable insight into potential careers, what skills are necessary and what routes they can take to reach their goals.

Student Interns experience interactive presentations, tours, and behind-the-scenes looks at various career areas including: Marine Biology, Natural Conservation, Culinary, Hospitality, Marketing, Craft Brewing, Maritime, Marine Piloting, Wildlife Rescue, Firefighting, Welding, Automotive, Historic Preservation  (In addition, the coordinator completes an on-site check-in with each student intern and their supervisor)

 

Clatsop WORKS Coordinator Misty Bateman and I thank all the employers who stepped up this year, several who have been with the program since the beginning and new participants who came on this year. The feedback from the employers has also been very positive, and we look forward to building this program stronger each year!

For more details on the program, to be an employer for this coming year, if you have a student who may be interested, or if there is anything we can assist with, please contact Misty at [email protected] or call her at 503-338-2507.

 

/by