High school apprenticeship program seeks to develop and keep talent in Pueblo
Representatives from CareerWise Colorado and the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment visited Pueblo Monday morning with intent to grow the multiyear Modern Youth Apprenticeship program hosted by CareerWise Colorado and championed locally by the Tienda Foundation.
Employers representing about 50 local businesses and nonprofits in various industries attended an employer breakfast at the Pueblo Convention Center to learn about the program available to high school juniors and seniors. During the breakfast, CareerWise Colorado Director of Business Partnerships C.J. Renaud made a "call to action" for local employers to embrace student apprenticeships.
"There's enough people in this room for us to engage students on an intentional, strategic mission to create family sustainable living-wage jobs ... We want to keep the talent here," Renaud said. "Employers tell us that they can't find employees. They tell us that they are lacking those entry-level skills."
CDLE Executive Director Joseph Barela told the employers that it was important for them to not only be "consumers of talent" but also to be "developers of talent." For this reason, he expressed support for apprenticeships and other work-based education models during the breakfast.
"No longer is it going to be a world where you can just expect talent to walk into your door and meet the needs of your business or industry," he said. "You are going to have to be an active participant in developing that talent."
To complete an apprenticeship through CareerWise Colorado, students must clock 2,000 work hours, complete 144 hours of planned training, earn necessary credentials and be rated proficient in certain competencies by supervisors, according to a presentation by CareerWise Colorado. Apprenticeships may be completed in two or three-year timelines, but the two-year timeline is exclusively for high school seniors.
With the help of the Tienda Foundation, CareerWise Colorado forged partnerships with Pueblo School District 60, Pueblo County School District 70 and Colorado State University Pueblo to create 10 apprenticeship positions in July. Growth of available apprenticeships in Pueblo depends on the needs of employers, Renaud said.
"When the employers are telling us their pain points, when and how fast they need students, we can move to that," she said. "Here, I think we are going to be really rich in employer partnerships."
Apprenticeship positions created at CSU Pueblo and the two school districts include a marketing coordinator, future educators, a maintenance technician and an IT support technician, according to the Tienda Foundation. Pueblo County is one of 10 Colorado counties participating in the Modern Youth Apprenticeship program.
Statewide, CareerWise Colorado has created apprenticeships in business, education, advanced manufacturing, health care, financial services, real estate, information technology, hospitality, construction, maintenance technology and industrial development.
More information about the Modern Youth Apprenticeship program can be found on the CareerWise Colorado website.
Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached by email at JBartolo@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: High school apprentice program seeks to develop, keep talent in Pueblo
