The Disparity Gap and the Corporate Ladder: The Uncertain Future of Minneapolis Step Up

In the landscape of Minnesota’s economic development, few initiatives have carried as much weight or promise as "Step Up." Launched over two decades ago, the program was designed to be a bridge between the skyscrapers of downtown Minneapolis and the often-overlooked talent in the city’s working-class neighborhoods. Today, that bridge is facing a structural crisis. While individual success stories continue to emerge—illustrating the life-changing potential of early professional exposure—a confluence of remote work, economic volatility, and political shifts is causing the number of available internships to plummet.

Main Facts: A Program at a Crossroads

Minneapolis Step Up, a cornerstone of the city’s workforce development strategy, is currently navigating a period of significant contraction. Despite a proven track record of moving students from low-income households into high-paying professional careers, the program has seen a drastic reduction in corporate participation.

At its peak in 2011, Step Up placed 2,325 teenagers in summer roles. By the summer of 2024, that number had fallen to 1,385, and it reached a recent low of 1,250 in 2025. This decline occurs at a time when the demand from students is higher than ever; currently, two teenagers apply for every single available internship slot.

The program’s primary goal remains the same: to provide career-readiness training and high-quality internships to Minneapolis youth ages 14-21 who face barriers to employment. These barriers are often systemic, affecting students of color, those from immigrant families, and youth from single-parent households. While the program has served over 36,000 participants since 2003, the current scarcity of positions threatens to leave thousands of motivated young people without a path into the professional world.

Chronology: From Civic Vision to Modern Reality

The story of Step Up began in 2003, born from a rare alignment of municipal leadership and private-sector muscle. Then-Mayor R.T. Rybak and former U.S. Bancorp CEO Richard Davis recognized a looming crisis: Minnesota’s workforce was aging, and the burgeoning population of young people of color was not being integrated into the state’s primary economic engines.

The Formative Years (2003–2011)

In its first decade, Step Up grew rapidly. Rybak and Davis acted as the program’s primary "cheerleaders," leveraging their networks to convince Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits, and government agencies that hiring a teenager wasn’t just charity—it was a talent acquisition strategy. The program hit its stride in 2011, proving that the Twin Cities’ business community could absorb thousands of interns annually.

The Success Story of Jordan Dotson (2019–2023)

The impact of this era is best personified by Jordan Dotson. In 2019, Dotson was a standout student at Minneapolis South High School, living in a working-class household on the North Side. Her daily routine involved taking two city buses to participate in theater and maintain her grades.

Through Step Up, Dotson landed an internship at Best Buy at the age of 15. "It was a little jarring at 15 or 16 to prepare for an interview at a Fortune 500 company," Dotson recalls. The internship provided more than just a paycheck; it provided a sense of "belonging" in a corporate environment where she was often one of the few people of color. Dotson’s relationship with her mentor, Best Buy attorney Mary Thomas, spanned her high school and college years at the University of Minnesota. By 2023, Dotson transitioned into a full-time role as an environmental compliance manager at Best Buy, a position that utilizes what she calls her "compliance brain and math brain."

The Modern Decline (2020–Present)

The trajectory of the program shifted with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and has struggled to recover its previous scale. The rise of remote and hybrid work models fundamentally altered the "office" experience, making it more difficult for managers to provide the hands-on supervision that high school interns require.

Supporting Data: The Economic Reality for Minnesota Youth

The decline in internship opportunities is happening against a backdrop of worsening economic indicators for Minnesota’s youth. According to Angelina Nguyen, director of labor market information at the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), the state is seeing a troubling trend in teen unemployment.

• Unemployment Spikes: In the spring of 2025, teen unemployment in Minnesota stood at 7.9%. By May of the following year, it had nearly doubled to 13.5%.
• Racial Disparities: Unemployment rates among Black Minnesotans remain significantly higher than the state average, compounding the difficulty for Step Up’s target demographic.
• The Experience Gap: Teens are increasingly forced to compete with older, more experienced workers for entry-level positions in retail and fast food—sectors that are also seeing fewer openings than in previous years.
• Workforce Demographics: DEED data confirms that all of Minnesota’s net workforce growth since the early 2000s has come from people of color and immigrants. This makes the success of programs like Step Up essential for the state’s long-term economic viability.

In 2025, Step Up operated with a budget of $3.75 million, funded by a mix of government support and 85 wage-paying employers. While the pay—up to $16.50 per hour—is competitive for summer work, the lack of "seats at the table" remains the primary bottleneck.

Official Responses: Navigating Resistance and Uncertainty

Program leaders and labor analysts point to a complex web of reasons for the withdrawal of corporate partners.

The "Managerial Burden" and Remote Work

Tammy Dickinson, the long-time manager of Step Up, notes that the shift in work culture has left fewer managers with the capacity to take on interns. In a hybrid environment, the traditional mentorship model—where an intern sits near their supervisor and learns through observation—is difficult to replicate.

Political and Social Pressures

There is also a growing caution among employers regarding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Labor market analysts suggest that some businesses are backing away from programs perceived as "diversity-focused" due to political pressure and the mercurial nature of federal administration policies that have historically challenged such initiatives. This "cautionary" stance has led some firms to eschew anything that could be labeled as a diversity program, even one as economically grounded as Step Up.

The AI Factor

Economic uncertainty, exacerbated by the rapid integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI), has also slowed overall hiring. Many companies are currently in a "wait and see" mode, cautious about how AI will change entry-level roles and whether they have the infrastructure to train humans for jobs that might soon be automated.

Implications: The Long-Term Cost of Lost Opportunities

The consequences of a shrinking Step Up program extend far beyond a single summer paycheck. For participants like Mike Archer, the program was a literal lifeline.

Breaking the Cycle of Poverty

Raised by a single mother with a disability on an annual income of $14,000, Archer used his Step Up experience at a local park to stay away from "negative influences" in his neighborhood. "I wasn’t just running around the neighborhood," Archer said. "I also became a mentor… I was responsible."

That early taste of responsibility led Archer to Dunwoody Technical College. Today, at 27, he is a journeyman electrician and foreman earning $63 an hour. "I’ll make over $100,000 this year. I own a home. I’m blessed," he said. Without that first $7.24-an-hour job, the path to a six-figure trade career might never have opened.

The Mentor’s Perspective

The value of the program is also seen in the banking sector. Rene Madrid, an immigrant from El Salvador and manager of the U.S. Bank office on East Lake Street, has mentored over 50 interns since 2010. He views the program as a vital pipeline for his branch, which serves a diverse Black and Latino neighborhood.

"Some of my top bankers started as interns," Madrid said, pointing to Jorge Estudillo Castillo, a 22-year-old banker who began as a Step Up intern while attending Cristo Rey High School. Madrid argues that even if an intern doesn’t choose banking, the skills they learn—customer relationships, personal finance, and professional networking—are "good for all their futures."

The Economic Imperative

The central implication for Minnesota is clear: if the state’s future workforce is comprised of the very demographic that Step Up serves, then the decline in these opportunities is a threat to the state’s future GDP.

Tammy Dickinson and other advocates are calling on healthcare and tech employers to "step up" in 2026. They argue that the strongest demand is currently in healthcare, where entry-level roles as nursing assistants can lead to high-paying careers in medical technology.

As Minneapolis continues to grapple with wide racial and economic disparities, the fate of Step Up serves as a litmus test for the city’s commitment to equity. The program has proven that the talent exists in every ZIP code; the question remains whether the city’s corporate leaders are willing to provide the space for that talent to grow. Without a renewed commitment from the private sector, the "bridge" to the North Side and beyond may continue to narrow, leaving the next generation of Jordan Dotsons and Mike Archers on the other side.