Brandon Leuallen, The Business Times

A panel convened by the Housing & Building Association of Western Colorado during its second annual Housing Summit on Feb. 5 highlighted rapid growth in Mesa County Valley School District 51’s Careers in Construction program. Program leaders reported student interest has continued to grow heading into next school year.

“We’re tripling the amount of kids that are wanting to be in this program,” Cheryl Taylor, District 51’s director of career and college readiness, said during the workforce-focused discussion.

Taylor said students are not only continuing from the introductory course into additional certifications, but bringing friends into the program and showing increased enthusiasm for jobsite visits and hands-on learning.

The panel also included Crystal Green, work-based learning coordinator at Palisade High School; George Hess, chairman of Careers in Construction Colorado and founder of Vantage Homes Corp.; and moderator Karrie (Kuklish) Gutzwiller of Fixture Studio.

Speakers emphasized the program’s success is tied to an industry-led model pairing standardized classroom training with direct employer involvement, from real-world site visits and guest speakers to internships.

Students can begin the Careers in Construction pathway as freshmen, completing a year-long pre-apprenticeship and OSHA 10 certification before advancing into trade-specific credentials each semester through graduation.

From one pilot site to districtwide expansion

Green said Palisade was the first Mesa County school to implement the standardized Careers in Construction curriculum after she noticed the Western Slope was missing from the program’s statewide footprint. The school is now in its second year of implementation and planning for Year 3.

Taylor said early engagement at Palisade High School helped drive districtwide adoption. Nearly every District 51 high school has now added the curriculum, with Central High School planning to bring it on next year.

“Not only do we have boys really excited about this pathway, we have girls really excited about this pathway,” Taylor said, calling it a turning point for the program.

A key feature, panelists said, is consistency. Green said when students tell employers they’ve completed Careers in Construction, contractors can expect a quality baseline of preparation.

Program becomes industry-led pipeline with measurable outcomes

Hess is a co-founder of Careers in Construction Colorado and helped start the program after seeing firsthand how construction-based vocational education changed students’ lives.

He said he and another industry leader were serving on the board of a nonprofit construction vocational program that worked with at-risk high school students. What struck him was not just that the students were learning carpentry skills, but they were succeeding academically in other areas and gaining purpose. That experience led them to pursue implementing Careers in Construction in public high schools.

Hess described the program as a public-private partnership built to connect education and employment through career navigators who help place students into internships and jobs.

Statewide, he said, more than 4,600 students participate in Careers in Construction Colorado each day.

Hess shared a story about a graduate who was hired by a local plumbing company and later told program leaders the pathway “saved my life” by giving him direction and purpose.

Internships needed, especially 

carpentry and electrical

Green said District 51 students are actively seeking internships, particularly in carpentry and electrical, and urged employers to consider hosting students. She said classroom visits and jobsite tours can serve as entry points for businesses unsure about bringing high school students onto a jobsite.

Taylor added the district provides insurance coverage for student interns through required paperwork, describing internships as an opportunity for employers to evaluate and train potential future hires.

Gutzwiller also highlighted the district’s “Build for the Future” career day, which connects students with hands-on demonstrations from local trades and will be scheduled for the spring of the following school year.