CareerWise Colorado and the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce are partnering to provide 100 modern youth apprenticeship opportunities with Chamber members in 2020.
“Innovating our talent pipelines is a stated objective in Denver,” said Noel Ginsburg, CareerWise CEO. “Workforce innovation starts with the Chamber. The membership is already leading the way on a number of development and advocacy issues. With this partnership we hope to harness that leadership and supercharge the momentum we’ve been building around youth apprenticeship since we launched three years ago.”
To facilitate the implementation of apprenticeships among member employers, the Chamber has hired Sammy Smith as a dedicated partnership manager. Trained by CareerWise, Smith will be officed at the Chamber and serve as the primary point of contact for members interested in learning more about how to develop talent pipelines for the great jobs they are creating.
“CareerWise is bringing together our companies and our youth to create more pathways to meaningful careers — that’s a win-win,” said Kelly Brough, Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce President and CEO. “We have to make a systemic change in our educational system where we recognize that earning while we are learning is a powerful way to meet our future workforce needs. We are proud to partner with CareerWise to create more apprenticeship opportunities and great careers for Coloradans.”
CareerWise apprentices are onsite with more than 100 companies in modern job functions such as financial services, business operations and IT. Apprenticeship is a work-based learning model that is prepares workers to step into full-time roles by having them perform meaningful, productive work and completing related classroom instruction.
“Apprenticeship is more than an internship—it’s not learning through exposure to work, it’s learning through work. And because of that, there is real value in creating these positions for employers,” Ginsburg said. “It’s not philanthropy; it’s smart business.”
Are you a business interested in an apprenticeship opportunity? Contact Sammy Smith at sammy.smith@denverchamber.org or 303-620-8050.
The Denver metro area has a vibrant health care economy – employment has increased in this sector every year since 2004, adding over 88,420 workers. But, there are still thousands of positions in the health care industry that need to be filled.
While many educators and parents worried about the summer melt, the Denver Opportunity Youth Initiative (DOYI) was igniting new interest in the industry among students.
The Chamber affiliate, in partnership with the Greater Metro Denver Health Care Partnership, Adams County Workforce Center, Denver Workforce Services, Arapahoe Douglas Workforce Center and the Central Colorado Area Health Education Center (AHEC) provided a unique health care learning opportunity for opportunity youth, a Health Care Pre-Apprenticeship Pilot.
“We recognize that we can only accomplish large and lasting social change if we all come together,” said Jenny Smith, talent pipeline liaison for DOYI. “The Health Care Pre-Apprenticeship program brings together community-based organizations, employers and local workforce centers to accomplish a common goal of creating a training on-ramp for young adults into health care careers.”
Meeting over three weeks, youth who ranged in age from 16 to 24 explored different careers in health care, met industry professionals, participated in hands-on activities and received entry-level certifications – preparing them for the next step in a career in health care. This is the first industry they’ve focused on, with plans to move into other in-demand spaces, such as IT.
“During the program we went over soft-skill training, but the main focus was hands-on activities,” said Mitch Fittro, education and workforce manager for Central Colorado AHEC, noting the youth saw all aspects of the health care industry, touring a cadaver lab, animal research facilities and Colvaria Hospitality, while receiving first aid training and a basic lifesaving certification. “They really get to feel a part of the health care community.”
Why health care? Every year there are 4,500 different positions that go unfulfilled in the health care industry. And, not every position requires a college degree.
“Opportunity youth represent an untapped talent pool that are resilient, have often been the care-taker for one of their family members and have the grit and perseverance needed to be successful in these jobs, which is just what employers are looking for,” Smith said.
Erin Lawless, director of human resources for Colavria Hospitality, a management and consulting firm for nursing home facilities, said opportunities like the pre-apprenticeship program are a great way to engage people who are ready to learn.
“This generation of students really want to make a difference, and health care is an excellent opportunity to make a difference,” she said.
Students were able to learn about the health care industry and all of the opportunities available to them to jump start their career, and employers were able to “widen our scope of who we appeal to from a job candidate perspective,” Lawless said.
And, a spark was ignited. Students could see where their careers could go and received the tools necessary to do so.
“You can see the light bulb go on,” Fittro said. “[The students] realize what they want to do and are determined to find the steps to get themselves to that point as well.”
Creating partnerships and programs like these allow for an industry to come together to address their workforce needs, Smith said, and it allows our community to “build the smart, skilled workforce we need for our future … it enables us to move families out of poverty, fill in-demand jobs and keep Colorado’s economy strong.”
Are you a business that would like to be involved with upcoming pre-apprenticeship programs? Contact jenny.smith@denverchamber.org for more information.
Laura James is the senior marketing specialist for the Denver Metro Chamber.
For the first time in 27 years, the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation went intercontinental to Munich, Germany, for Leadership Exchange (LEX), taking 130-plus Denver metro area business leaders to explore innovations happening in another community and bring those best practices home. On this trip, delegates focused in on workforce readiness and Germany’s apprenticeship model.
“The apprenticeship model, while not new to Europe, has new applicability within the U.S., particularly for growing regions struggling to meet workforce demands,” Carrie Besnette Hauser, president and CEO of Colorado Mountain College, reflected after the trip. “It presents a win-win: a viable way to ensure more high school students explore careers before college while populating organizations with employees they desperately need.”
Delegates met and saw apprentices in action at seven different companies that spanned industries from manufacturing to hospitality and banking: ARRI, Deutsche Bahn AG, HypoVereinsbank, IWIS Motor Systeme, MTU Aero Engines AG, Sofitel and Stadtwerke München. Leaders challenged their perceptions of apprenticeships, the role businesses play and the return on cultivating talent.
How apprenticeships work in Germany: Students choose between standard secondary education or a vocational pathway, which combines schooling and workplace training. Two-thirds of students choose the apprenticeship track and 93 percent of those apprentices stay with the organization that employed them.
This has never been more relevant for Colorado. While we are home to one of the most highly educated workforces and a low unemployment rate, only a fraction of Colorado kids receive a post-secondary credential. It’s called the Colorado Paradox. By 2020, 74 percent of Colorado jobs will require some post-secondary credentials and today roughly 54 percent of Coloradans have post-secondary credentials. The apprenticeship model offers a workforce development solution.
When Jon Kinning, co-owner, executive vice president and COO of RK, said it best when posed with the question, “What if you train [apprentices] and they leave?” He replied, “What if we don't train them and they stay?" Apprenticeship-focused programs including CareerWise, CareerConnect at Denver Public Schools and the Denver Opportunity Youth Initiative –which is a program of the Denver Metro Chamber and focuses on re-engaging young adults who aren’t in school or working – are already underway in the Denver metro area.
What’s Next?
Many wonder how we can begin to implement such a huge undertaking. It starts with collaboration – it’s in Colorado’s Civic DNA™. In Colorado we have a history working together for the common good. It can be messy and unpredictable, but it has raised a lot of barns here.
Besnette Hauser and Kinning are exploring a pilot in the construction sector. Other companies have likewise voiced their support for building apprenticeships, internships, job shadows and other real-world work experiences for youth. To learn more or find out how you can get involved in Denver check out Denver Opportunity Youth Initiative’s Talent Toolkit.
Erica Rutledge is the programs and events coordinator for the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation.
