Case Study: CareerWise Eagle County

Deep within the Rocky Mountains of Colorado lies a small, rural community of just over 55,000 residents spread throughout 1,692 square miles. Named after the Eagle River that runs through it, the county is defined by its breathtaking, mountainous landscape and outdoor activities, including multiple notable ski resorts and trail systems that fuel the economy. However, beyond its views and slopes, Eagle County is also home to a growing movement of young people building and working towards a better future for themselves as well as their community. Through rural youth apprenticeship programs, these students are gaining valuable hands-on experience and skills.

The CareerWise program was introduced to Eagle County in 2018 and has been in operation for 8 years. It has since seen 99 youth apprentices through to graduation. Currently, they are supporting 25 youth apprentices and helping over 800 students with career-readiness skills. By overcoming the challenges of rural youth apprenticeships, Eagle County has noted collaboration, authenticity, and consistency to be solutions for expanding their program. 

More specifically, having existing partnerships within the community allowed the program to take off and continue growing with those partnerships together. For example, their partnership with the schools gives them the opportunity to spread awareness firsthand with all high school juniors in the county by holding presentations with mandatory attendance. They have counselors that are aware of how to schedule students to make their apprenticeships as effective as possible. Students also have the added benefit of earning college credit at no cost to the students. Furthermore, the program has maintained authenticity and transparency with everyone involved or looking to. Every year, the intermediary, Vail Valley Partnership (VVP), holds a workforce development conference where it features the program and encourages new businesses to join through current and former apprentices and supervisors sharing their stories. The final piece of their solution, consistency, comes from having a visible and tangible influence throughout the year that helps CareerWise Eagle County maintain a consistent presence. Everyone in the area is familiar with the program, its purpose, and the support it provides to the community.  This program serves as a blueprint other rural counties can learn from and acts as a blueprint for other counties to follow. Find a more thorough analysis of this case study on New America's website here.

Unique Components of Rural Apprenticeships:

Reach Higher Montana

👥Community Integration

Apprentices are often integrated deeply into their own respective local communities and economies. The overarching goal is to both retain local talent and fill the specific labor needs of the community. 

🚐Transportation Challenges 

Trainees may face significant transportation barriers due to long distances between work, class, and home, requiring unique logistical solutions. 

📚Access to Related Technical Instruction 

Training centers may be few and far between in rural communities, but new capabilities for hybrid learning or online learning have expanded access to the related technical instruction required for registered apprenticeship programs.

👩‍🔧Scope of the Apprentice’s Work 

The apprentice may be exposed to a broader scope of tasks within their given trade due to the smaller size of the operation. Because they have fewer staff, there are more crucial, collaborative moments that allow the apprentice to try and develop a wider, more comprehensive range of skills. 

Building strong youth apprenticeship programs in rural areas can propose both immense challenges and unique promise. Rural communities offer close networks and connections, but also barriers surrounding difficulty in participation from employers and students. Combined with the added difficulties of narrow industry options, resource availability, and funding difficulties, these challenges are hurdles in rural youth apprenticeships. That being said, there are potential solutions that might help alleviate divisions.

Case Study: Reach Higher Montana

Reach Higher Montana (RHM) is a non-profit organization based in Helena, MT, a state-wide initiative to help students plan for their futures after high school. They work with 160 schools across Montana and primarily target smaller-scale schools with less access to resources. A notable aspect of their apprenticeship model was to make the program free for all participants: apprentices, schools, and employers. They fluctuate between a two-year and three-year model, as well as when their apprentices start, based on the needs of both the apprentice and the employer. 

By interviewing the Outreach Director of RHM, Jason Butcher, we discovered what exactly makes their youth apprenticeship program the best it can be. Their program enables Montana high school students to gain professional experience while still in school, often earning college credit at no additional cost. While it is a relatively small program, Butcher and his team are working to expand the industry pathways and build new partnerships, increasing the program’s reach to more students. However, several obstacles hinder their goals of expansion that are similar to those seen across rural areas previously mentioned. The biggest one, awareness and knowledge, impacts the reluctance of students and businesses when it comes to participating. Another issue is the number of opportunities available, which makes it challenging to find a suitable host employer for a youth apprentice. Finally, the proximity that RHM has to these communities means there is a lack of physical presence that makes it harder to maintain communication with these students and businesses. Reach Higher Montana is striving to persevere despite these obstacles. They have an has experienced staff dedicated to their mission cause, and offer externships that prompt employers to become interested. Read more in-depth about how RHM has advanced here. 

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