Bridging the Opportunity Gap: The Evolution and Uncertain Future of Minneapolis’ Step Up Program

In the landscape of Minnesota’s economic future, few initiatives have been as pivotal as "Step Up," the Minneapolis-based youth internship program. Designed to connect high school students from underrepresented backgrounds with the city’s corporate and civic engines, the program has long been hailed as a national model for workforce development. However, as the program enters its third decade, it faces a complex intersection of success and systemic challenge. While former interns are now ascending into high-level corporate roles and skilled trades, the program itself is grappling with a decline in employer participation, a shifting post-pandemic workplace, and a volatile political climate that has cooled corporate enthusiasm for diversity-focused initiatives.

Main Facts: A Tale of Two Realities

The current state of youth employment in Minneapolis is characterized by a stark dichotomy. On one hand, individual success stories like that of Jordan Dotson—who rose from a working-class North Side household to become an environmental compliance manager at Best Buy—illustrate the program’s transformative power. On the other hand, the numbers suggest a tightening bottleneck. In 2025, Step Up’s budget supported 1,385 interns, a significant drop from its peak of over 2,300 in 2011. This summer, the number fell further to 1,250.

The program primarily targets lower-income Minneapolis teenagers, the majority of whom are students of color. These are often students who lack the "social capital"—the professional networks and family connections—that their more affluent peers use to secure early career opportunities. Step Up bridges this gap by providing online career-exploration courses, interview training, and paid internships that currently offer up to $16.50 per hour.

Despite the program’s proven track record, the demand from students far outstrips the supply of positions. Currently, two teenagers apply for every one available internship. This scarcity comes at a time when teen unemployment in Minnesota has surged from 7.9% in early 2025 to 13.5% by mid-year, with Black youth experiencing even higher rates of joblessness.

Chronology: From Civic Vision to Corporate Integration

The genesis of Step Up dates back to 2003, a period of significant anxiety regarding Minnesota’s future workforce. It was co-founded by then-Mayor R.T. Rybak and Richard Davis, the former CEO of U.S. Bancorp. Their partnership represented a unique "town and gown" style of collaboration between the public sector and the Twin Cities’ powerful corporate community.

Davis, who famously began his own career as a part-time bank teller while in college, and Rybak, a tireless advocate for urban youth, spent years serving as the program’s primary cheerleaders. They successfully lobbied Fortune 500 companies, local nonprofits, and government agencies to open their doors to high schoolers who might otherwise never see the inside of a corporate boardroom.

Since its inception, the program has achieved the following milestones:

• 2003: Program launch with a focus on Minneapolis high school students.
• 2010–2012: The program reached its zenith in terms of participation. In 2011, a record 2,325 teens were placed in summer jobs.
• 2015–2019: The program expanded its curriculum to include more robust digital literacy and "soft skills" training, recognizing the changing needs of the modern office.
• 2020–2023: The COVID-19 pandemic forced a pivot to remote internships and virtual training, a shift that proved challenging for many students lacking stable internet or home office spaces.
• 2024–2025: A period of contraction. Despite a return to "normalcy," the number of available slots began to dwindle, falling to 1,250 in the most recent cycle.

Over the last 22 years, more than 36,000 teenagers have moved through the Step Up pipeline. For many, like Jordan Dotson, the program wasn’t just a summer job; it was the beginning of a decade-long professional trajectory. Dotson began her journey at 15, navigating two buses from the North Side to South High School, and eventually to Best Buy’s headquarters. After graduating from the University of Minnesota, she transitioned to a full-time role in environmental compliance in 2023, turning a high school internship into a high-stakes corporate career.

Supporting Data: The Economic and Social Impact

The importance of programs like Step Up is underscored by data from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). According to DEED, the only demographic growth in Minnesota’s workforce over the last two decades has come from people of color and immigrants. As the "Silver Tsunami" of retiring Baby Boomers continues to drain the labor pool, the state’s economic health is increasingly dependent on the successful integration of these younger workers.

The Unemployment Gap

Angelina Nguyen, director of labor market information at DEED, points to a troubling trend: teens are increasingly competing with older, more experienced workers for entry-level roles. As the economy cools in certain sectors, businesses are opting for "safe" hires—those who require less training—leaving high schoolers in the lurch. This is particularly evident in the 13.5% teen unemployment rate, which is significantly higher than the general population’s unemployment rate.

The Fiscal Picture

In 2025, Step Up operated on a budget of $3.75 million. This funding was a patchwork of government grants and contributions from 85 wage-paying employers. While the hourly wage of $16.50 is competitive for youth work, the real value lies in the long-term earning potential.

Consider the case of Mike Archer, a 27-year-old Step Up alumnus. Raised by a single mother who earned just $14,000 a year due to a disability, Archer used his early Step Up experiences in park maintenance and mentorship to build a foundation of responsibility. He eventually attended Dunwoody Technical College and is now a journeyman electrician and foreman. Today, he earns $63 an hour—over $100,000 a year—and owns his own home. This represents a massive leap in intergenerational wealth, moving from the bottom quintile of earners to the top, largely sparked by a $7.24-an-hour summer job.

Official Responses: Why Participation is Waning

If the program is so successful, why are the numbers dropping? Leaders from both the public and private sectors point to several systemic shifts.

The Remote Work Dilemma

Tammy Dickinson, the long-time manager of Step Up, notes that the rise of remote and hybrid work has fundamentally altered the internship landscape. "It’s harder to mentor a 16-year-old via Zoom than it is in person," Dickinson suggests. Many managers, already stretched thin by post-pandemic staffing shortages, feel they lack the bandwidth to provide the high-touch supervision that a first-time worker requires.

The "DEI" Chill

Perhaps more controversially, labor market analysts and program leaders point to a shifting political climate. Under the influence of national political discourse, some corporations have become "wary" of initiatives that are explicitly branded as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. The mercurial nature of federal policy and the potential for legal challenges to race-conscious hiring have led some firms to quietly retreat from programs like Step Up, which specifically target students of color and lower-income neighborhoods.

The AI Factor

Artificial Intelligence is also casting a shadow over entry-level hiring. Many tasks formerly assigned to summer interns—data entry, basic research, and administrative support—are now being automated. This has left companies questioning the "business case" for hiring high school students, even as they acknowledge the long-term need for a diverse talent pipeline.

Implications: The Long-Term Stakes for Minnesota

The decline of Step Up and its St. Paul counterpart, "Right Track," has profound implications for the Twin Cities’ social and economic fabric.

Workforce Sustainability

Minnesota is currently facing a critical shortage of workers in high-demand fields like healthcare and the skilled trades. Step Up acts as a primary feeder for these industries. Without these early interventions, students may never consider a career in nursing or electrical engineering. As Rene Madrid, a manager at U.S. Bank who has mentored over 50 interns, puts it: "Some of the interns like banking and some do not. But they all learn about our business, customer relationships, making professional connections, and personal finance. That’s good for all their futures."

Social Stability

For students like Mike Archer, Step Up was a shield against the "negative influences" of the neighborhood. By providing a structured environment and a paycheck, the program offers a tangible alternative to the cycles of poverty and crime that can trap urban youth. The reduction in available slots means hundreds of students are left without that structured path each summer.

The Competitive Edge

For corporations like Best Buy and U.S. Bank, these programs are not just charity; they are a strategic necessity. Jordan Dotson’s story highlights this: she provides a perspective and a "compliance brain" that the company needs to navigate a global market. When companies pull back from these programs, they risk creating a "talent desert" a decade down the line.

The success of Step Up veterans in discussing post-high school plans—as reported by school counseling staff—suggests that the program’s value extends far beyond the summer months. It instills a sense of "belonging" in professional spaces that can be "jarring" for a 15-year-old from a working-class background.

As Minnesota looks toward 2030, the challenge for Step Up will be to reinvent itself for a hybrid, AI-driven, and politically sensitive era. The program’s history proves that when the city’s leaders "step up," the youth of Minneapolis are more than ready to follow. The question remains whether the current generation of corporate and civic leaders will maintain the same level of commitment that Rybak and Davis established two decades ago. Without a renewed surge in employer participation, the "opportunity gap" in the Twin Cities may only continue to widen.