The Step Up Paradox: Minneapolis’ Premier Youth Internship Program Faces Declining Participation Amidst Critical Workforce Needs

MINNEAPOLIS — Jordan Dotson’s daily commute in 2019 was a testament to her ambition. A standout student at Minneapolis South High School, Dotson traveled from her working-class neighborhood on the North Side, navigating two city buses each way to participate in the school’s renowned theater program. Today, the 25-year-old is an environmental compliance manager at Best Buy’s corporate headquarters, a role she traces directly back to a pivotal opportunity she received at age 15: an internship through the Minneapolis "Step Up" program.

Dotson’s trajectory—from a high-achieving student in a working-class household to a professional at a Fortune 500 company—is the ideal outcome envisioned by the program’s founders. However, as Step Up enters its third decade, a troubling paradox has emerged. While the program’s success stories are more vibrant than ever, the number of available internships is shrinking, leaving thousands of eager Minneapolis youth on the sidelines during a period of rising teen unemployment and shifting economic winds.

Main Facts: A Proven Model Under Pressure

The Minneapolis Step Up program serves as a bridge between the city’s talented youth and its most prominent employers. Designed to provide career-readiness training and paid summer internships, the program specifically targets lower-income students, many of whom are students of color or first-generation Americans who may lack the "social capital" or professional networks necessary to break into corporate environments.

Since its inception, the program has achieved remarkable scale:

• Total Reach: Over 36,000 teenagers have completed the program since 2003.
• Training: Participants undergo rigorous online career-exploration courses, interview preparation, and mentoring.
• Compensation: Current summer roles pay up to $16.50 per hour for up to 40 hours a week, providing vital financial support for students and their families.

Despite these achievements, the program is currently navigating a period of contraction. At its peak in 2011, Step Up placed 2,325 teens in summer roles. By the summer of 2024, that number had plummeted to 1,250—a decline of nearly 50% from its record high. This downward trend persists even as student demand remains high; currently, two teenagers apply for every one available internship slot.

Chronology: From a Mayor’s Vision to a Corporate Pipeline

The Step Up program was born in 2003 out of a unique partnership between the public and private sectors. Then-Mayor R.T. Rybak and former U.S. Bancorp CEO Richard Davis recognized a disconnect between the city’s burgeoning youth population and the workforce needs of the Twin Cities’ massive corporate base.

Davis, who famously began his own career as a part-time bank teller while in college, joined Rybak in a relentless campaign to convince Minneapolis CEOs that hiring a 16-year-old was not just an act of charity, but a strategic investment in the state’s future.

Throughout the 2010s, the program became a staple of the Minneapolis summer economy. For students like Jordan Dotson, the program provided a decade-long runway. Dotson joined Best Buy as a Step Up intern in high school and continued working there during her summers while attending the University of Minnesota.

"It was a little jarring at 15 or 16 to prepare for an interview at a Fortune 500 company," Dotson recalls. "The internship helped me with networking and to start feeling that I belonged. I was one of only a few women and people of color on our headquarters team. But now, Best Buy feels like a good place for me."

In 2023, after graduating from the University of Minnesota, Dotson transitioned to a full-time role. Her journey was supported by a long-term mentorship with Mary Thomas, a Best Buy attorney who evolved from a supervisor into a colleague. This multi-year professional relationship is the "secret sauce" of Step Up, yet it is becoming increasingly rare as the professional landscape shifts.

Supporting Data: The Widening Gap in the Labor Market

The decline in internship slots comes at a precarious time for Minnesota’s economy. According to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), the state’s only source of significant population and workforce growth since the early 2000s has been people of color and immigrants.

"Employers need more high school graduates ready for on-the-job training or post-high school studies," a DEED report recently noted, emphasizing that the "New American" workforce is the key to maintaining Minnesota’s economic competitive edge.

However, the data for younger workers is trending in the wrong direction:

• Rising Unemployment: Teen unemployment in Minnesota spiked from 7.9% in the spring of 2024 to 13.5% by May 2025.
• Racial Disparities: Unemployment rates for Black Minnesotans remain significantly higher than the state average, further isolating the very demographic Step Up aims to assist.
• Competitive Pressures: Angelina Nguyen, director of labor market information at DEED, notes that teens are now competing for "entry-level" jobs with older, more experienced workers who have re-entered the labor market due to economic necessity.

The 2025 Step Up budget of $3.75 million, funded by 85 wage-paying employers and government subsidies, was only enough to cover 1,385 students (including both interns and those in work-readiness training). The gap between the 2,325 slots of 2011 and today’s figures represents over 1,000 lost opportunities for the city’s youth.

Official Responses: Why the Private Sector is Pulling Back

Program administrators and labor analysts point to a "perfect storm" of factors contributing to the decline in participation.

Tammy Dickinson, the long-time manager of Step Up, remains hopeful but acknowledges the hurdles. "High school career and counseling staff report that Step Up veterans are better prepared to discuss post-high school plans," she said. However, she notes that the "traditional" sectors for teen employment—fast food, retail, and entertainment—have fewer openings than a year ago.

Several systemic shifts are driving the corporate retreat:

1. The Remote/Hybrid Shift: With many corporate employees working from home, there are fewer managers physically in offices to supervise and mentor high school interns.
2. Managerial Burnout: Workforce shifts have resulted in leaner management structures, leaving fewer people with the "bandwidth" to take on the responsibility of a teenage trainee.
3. Economic and Political Uncertainty: Labor analysts suggest that businesses are adjusting to economic volatility and the potential impacts of AI on entry-level tasks.
4. The DEI Backlash: Some employers have expressed caution regarding diversity-focused initiatives due to political pressure and legal challenges to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs nationally.

Despite these challenges, some leaders remain undeterred. Rene Madrid, manager of the U.S. Bank office on East Lake Street and an immigrant from El Salvador, has mentored more than 50 interns since 2010.

"Some of my top bankers, and I have 20 direct reports here, started as interns," Madrid said. He points to Jorge Estudillo Castillo, a 22-year-old banker who started as a Step Up intern while attending Cristo Rey High School. "They all learn about our business, customer relationships, making professional connections, personal finance, credit, savings, and money management. That’s good for all their futures."

Implications: The Long-Term Cost of Inaction

The implications of a shrinking Step Up program extend far beyond summer paychecks. For students from low-income backgrounds, these internships are often the only path to the middle class that doesn’t involve insurmountable debt or "negative influences" in their neighborhoods.

Take the case of Mike Archer, 27. Raised by a single mother with a disability who earned just $14,000 a year, Archer credits Step Up with changing his life’s trajectory. His first job through the program paid $7.24 an hour picking up litter in a local park.

"I wasn’t just running around the neighborhood," Archer said. "I became a mentor at the park… I was responsible. I bought my own first phone and some clothes. My job gave my mom a break."

Archer was never a "straight-A" student, but the work ethic he developed in Step Up led him to Dunwoody Technical College. Today, he is a journeyman electrician and a foreman. "I get paid $63 an hour. I’ll make over $100,000 this year. I own a home. I’m blessed," he said.

If the decline in internship participation continues, stories like Archer’s and Dotson’s may become anomalies rather than the standard. As Minnesota’s "silver tsunami" of retiring workers continues, the state faces a choice: reinvest in the localized talent pipeline represented by Step Up, or face a future where the workforce gap becomes a permanent drag on the regional economy.

For Tammy Dickinson and the advocates of Step Up, the solution is clear: more employers, particularly in high-demand sectors like healthcare, must "step up" to train their future workforce. Without that commitment, the city risks losing a generation of talent to the very barriers the program was designed to break down.