Green Jobs Pathways Program

About the Program

Category: Personnel Management, Employment and Training (Best in Category)

Year: 2023

Youth interns of color are in high demand in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, particularly for organizations like Hennepin County (HC) seeking to create and diversify green job opportunities. To that end, HC piloted a new internship program called Green Pathways in the summer of 2022. We recruited a cohort of 4 black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) youth, who spent their summer with the department learning about various environmental careers. The overarching goals of the program: • Create a supportive cohort of BIPOC youth • Teach skills to add to professional resumes • Inspire youth to consider environmental careers, especially at Hennepin County The intern cohort—comprised of an Urban Scholar, who served as the interns’ day-to-day coordinator, and 3 recent high school graduates recruited through the BrookLynk program—learned to prune trees, mail environmental education literature, conduct biological monitoring, survey garbage haulers, and learned about motivating behavior change. Two of the interns were invited to extend their internship with HC. Another intern, upon recommendation from HC, was recently hired by Hennepin County Library. Green Pathways is staying connected with past interns, providing them with networking and job postings. The program will also recruit a new cohort of BIPOC youth for summer 2023.