Facing a dire workforce shortage, Colorado is spending over $38 million to pay for community college education for students willing to fill the state’s most highly in-demand jobs.
Starting this fall, Colorado’s community and technical colleges will cover all tuition, fees and course materials costs for those pursuing professional certifications or degrees in seven high-demand fields: construction, education, early childhood education, firefighting, forestry, law enforcement, and nursing.
The CAC fund is open to all students in training in one of those seven professions and who has applied to federal or state financial aid, regardless of their GPA or whether they live in the Centennial State. There is also no requirement for transcripts, essays, letters of recommendation, or pay fees to apply.
“You can apply, and go,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, said in July in a promotional video for CAC. “You just do the work, then get a good job and make [a] salary.”
For instance, for a student who is enrolled in a $4,000 one-year certificate program and receives $1,500 in federal Pell Grant, the state will pay $2,500 to cover the difference. If the student is not eligible for any federal or state aid, the state will foot the entire $4,000 via CAC.
The bill, sponsored by a bipartisan group of legislators, also set aside $5 million to create two short-term degree nursing programs at community and technical colleges.
The CAC is built on the model of Care Forward, a program launched in the fall of 2022 that pays tuition for students at community and technical colleges training for health care jobs such as certified nursing assistant, dental assistant, and paramedic. According to the state, more than 3,000 Coloradans have since completed programs through Care Forward.
Realities of Colorado’s Workforce Shortage
As of June, Colorado ranks the 32nd most challenging state in the United States for employers to fill open positions, according to the most up-to-date data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The ratio of unemployed people per job opening in Colorado was 0.5, meaning that there were twice as many openings as there were applicants.“Colorado has two job openings for every available worker. That means we need to change our approach,” Gov. Polis said in December in a virtual event with state leaders. “We know that a four-year degree isn’t the right path for every person and every job. For many, it’s apprenticeships, on-the-job learning, technical or community college education, and dual and concurrent enrollment in high school.”
“The idea that one must have a four-year degree or be consigned to low-wage work is false. Many jobs require a post-secondary credential rather than a degree,” the report on Colorado’s economic mobility read.
These so-called “middle-skill” jobs require skill training that falls between a high school diploma and a four-year degree, but too few workers have the right training, according to the think tank.
“Forty-nine percent of jobs in Colorado require education and training beyond high school, but not a four-year degree, yet only 35 percent of workers have the skills training needed for these jobs,” the researchers wrote.
The report also warned that, while a tighter labor force can have positive impact on workers by adding pressure on wage promotion opportunities, the shortfall can slash the state’s economic output by tens of billions of dollars as critical jobs remain unfilled.
“Even if every unemployed worker took a job, reducing the unemployment rate to zero, there would still be 153,000 unfilled jobs in the state,” it read. “If these jobs were filled, the state would reap an additional $46 billion in economic activity and increase its GDP by 10 percent.”
