Career and Technical Education
Preparing Pagosa Springs High School Students for a career in Building Trades, Culinary Arts & Hospitality, Health Sciences, Agriculture, and Welding through hands-on learning & internship experiences
Thank you to our generous supporters. We couldn’t do this without you.
Why Career Technical Education at Pagosa Springs High School?
In 2022, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 33.8% of high school graduates were not enrolled in colleges or universities. Additionally, employment of construction laborers and helpers is projected to grow 4 percent from 2021 to 2031 in the U.S. In terms of demand, 45,000 new skilled trades workers are needed in Colorado by 2027 – 25% growth rate.
With assistance from our local community, learners are provided summer internship opportunities with local employers to learn skills and gain hands-on experience. In 2023, in collaboration with our Community Development Corporation (CDC), 47 students were placed throughout Archuleta County with a 98% success rate.
Help us build a better future for our community’s youth, workforce and employers.
Contact us today for more information on our planned Regional Workforce Center and the CTE program needs at Pagosa Springs High School.
Building Trades Education and Build Pagosa
Build Pagosa collaborates with Archuleta School District to expand the Career and Technical Education, or CTE, programs. (These were previously referred to as vocational classes.) There are currently 6 pathways in the CTE programs including Building Trades, Health Sciences, Transportation, Business, Computer Science; and Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. These programs teach high school students the skills needed to work in, and ultimately pursue a career in these sectors. We also have an internship program to place students with local employers, both public and private, during the summer months in order to help them gain real-world experience and on-the-job training. We aim to help learners become earners.
Expanding the community’s workforce training programs for both youth and adults requires classroom space. We are currently fundraising to build a larger Regional Workforce Center which will not only house many of our existing CTE courses, but would also allow us to expand to host adult education and community college courses.
You can help us Build Pagosa. Donate to our new building with your professional skills, materials or funding through our non-profit. To learn more, contact us and we would be happy to answer any questions. We invite you to get involved. Together we can Build Pagosa.