DENVER — It can be tough to land your dream job or even get started in a new career, especially if you don't have the education or experience employers want.
In Colorado, apprenticeship programs are helping more and more people bridge that gap.
"It is a total win-win for everybody," said Helen Young Hayes, Founder and CEO of ActivateWork, a nonprofit that helps match job seekers with employers. "The beauty of apprenticeship is that it really is the antidote or the opposite of college in that our apprentices are being paid to learn those mid-level skills and developing the experience those employers want."
Colorado is becoming a national leader in its work to increase apprenticeships statewide. According to Apprenticeship Colorado, they've become the first state in the nation to recognize intermediaries - the folks helping get people into apprenticeships.
Colorado has even started a pilot program in two school districts to help get students interested in these programs and careers they might not have otherwise considered.
Data from the state shows that from January to March of this year, more than 7,000 people were actively working as apprentices in more than 300 registered programs.
This past June marked 101 new apprenticeship programs added for the fiscal year.
"This is a tremendous opportunity in my opinion to really get Coloradans the credentials and the education and the training that they need to meet those in demand jobs that are being unfilled," Young Hayes said.
As the founder of ActivateWork, Young Hayes and her team help underrepresented Coloradans get started in IT careers.
After learning the basics in a boot camp, some students move on to work as IT apprentices. It's paid training that gives people the skills they need to not only get hired but find better paying jobs.
"So it really is helping employers who hire apprentices and train apprentices create the workforce that they're looking for," Young Hayes said. "It also really helps turbocharge people with their economic mobility"
People like Geraldine Alden, who is working as an apprentice at cybersecurity company Cyber Sainik.
"When ActivateWork reached out me, I was like, 'Let's give it a try, why not?' And it really helped," said Geraldine Alden, an apprentice at Cyber Sainik.
When Alden and her husband moved to Colorado, she said she was having trouble finding a job despite her cybersecurity degree. ActivateWork reached out, first about IT bootcamp and then about an apprenticeship.
Now a few months into her apprenticeship, Alden said she's constantly learning new things and new skills. And she's excited to see what's next for her in her new career.
"So it's very surprising and it's really amazing what apprenticeship can do," Alden said.
In July, ActivateWork received a $3.8-million grant from the Biden-Harris administration to modernize, diversify and expand apprenticeships in Colorado.