Apprenticeship and Rural Colorado: Exploring Benefits, Barriers, and the Role of Regional Intermediaries
Empower Schools’ report, Apprenticeship and Rural Colorado, explores how youth apprenticeship can expand college and career pathways, strengthen local talent pipelines, and support economic development in rural communities
↓ Download Apprenticeship and Rural Colorado PDF
The report focuses on both registered and unregistered youth apprenticeship programs that begin while students are still in high school and combine paid work, hands-on learning, mentorship, college credit, and industry credentials. It explains key apprenticeship terms, compares program models, and examines the current apprenticeship landscape in Colorado.
The report also highlights the role Rural Collaboratives can play as regional intermediaries, helping school districts, employers, higher education partners, and workforce leaders work together to make youth apprenticeship more accessible in rural communities.
In this resource:
How youth apprenticeship can support rural workforce development and student opportunity
The difference between registered apprenticeships, unregistered apprenticeships, youth apprenticeships, and pre-apprenticeships
What employers, related instruction providers, sponsors, and intermediaries do in apprenticeship models
How apprenticeship compares with P-TECH and other college and career pathway models
Case studies from Vail Valley Partnership and Colorado Springs District 11
Strategies for expanding youth apprenticeship through Rural Collaboratives, school districts, and hospitals
Best for: rural district leaders, workforce partners, employers, higher education partners, hospital and healthcare leaders, state education leaders, funders, and organizations building Rural Collaboratives or Early College and Career Pathways.
