Colorado is a state where business, government and nonprofit communities understand the value of working together to create opportunity for all, regardless of where they live or who they are. However, the state isn’t immune to the challenges of building ladders to economic success that others states face.
One example of this is the economic future for young Coloradans. Less than one in four students entering high school today will obtain a college degree or post-secondary credential. Yet, college or formal training beyond high school is needed for nearly nine out of 10 good, well-paying jobs.
In response to this, businesses, along with the public sector, are launching an innovative statewide youth apprenticeship program called CareerWise Colorado. These apprenticeships will provide high school students paid work experience to gain essential skills in high-growth industries like information technology, finance, and advanced manufacturing while also earning college credit.
Bloomberg Philanthropies and JPMorgan Chase are together investing $9.5 million in this new business-led initiative, which will prepare high school students for careers that both have growth potential and pay a good wage. The funding will also support an ongoing, successful pilot through Denver Public Schools’ CareerConnect and other districts statewide to equip students with the skills they need to succeed.
Beginning next fall, high school juniors statewide will be able to choose apprenticeships that place them directly into paid, meaningful and productive positions with committed employers. These employers will see them through three years of training and prepare them directly for good careers or, if they choose, to continue their education.
Students will spend up to half of their time on-site with employers while still earning credit toward high school graduation and post-secondary credentials. A third year of apprenticeship experience will further prepare students to enter the workforce directly or continue their education — supported by the wages they have earned along the way.
The vision for CareerWise Colorado emerged from Colorado’s Business Experiential-Learning Commission, which studied the most effective youth apprenticeship systems across the globe. The commission committed to a sustainable model that will train and prepare 20,000 students from across Colorado as youth apprentices over the next 10 years to get them on track to good jobs and careers.
Colorado is a national leader in developing innovative strategies to increase student achievement and improve opportunities beyond high school. Already, programs like DPS’s CareerConnect provide students with career exploration, coaching and mentoring to better prepare students for college and career. Their work will expand with support from these additional investments and will help an additional 9,000 Denver students over three years, many of whom will go on to participate in CareerWise apprenticeships.
By working together, we are developing a scalable model that will become a gold standard for apprenticeship systems across the U.S. while improving the talent pipeline for critical industries and increasing educational attainment and opportunities for all Colorado youth. All while giving thousands of students real access to not just good jobs, but upwardly mobile careers.
John Hickenlooper is governor of Colorado. Michael Bloomberg is the founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies and was mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013. Jamie Dimon is the Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co.
To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit online or check out our guidelines for how to submit by e-mail or mail.
