Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Colorado College Uses Grants to Add Construction Program

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 01/12/22

A public technical college in Colorado will be launching a new construction trades certification program that will give students experience in building affordable housing. Development of the "Delta-Montrose Building Affordable Homes & Skilled Workforce" program at Technical College of the Rockies is being funded by two grants: one from the state's Rural Economic Development Initiative for $195,628 and the other from the Western Colorado Community Foundation for $50,000. The college is working with the region's Habitat for Humanity affiliate.

Expected to launch in the fall, the program will offer short-term certification courses in the residential construction process, including excavation, framing, drywall, paint/finish work and landscaping, all the way through passing final inspections and earning a certificate of occupancy. Students will gain practical experience at Habitat worksites, where they'll help in building affordable homes, alongside volunteers and prospective home owners.

The new offerings will build on existing programs in heating and air conditioning and electrical work. The first is a one-year program leading to a technician credential. The second is a two-year apprenticeship program, for licensing as a journeyman electrician.

All that's needed, the school noted in a press release, is a program coordinator to schedule on-site training and to work with local high schools in setting up pathways for students who aren't "college-bound."

"I am excited about receiving this grant and the opportunities it will help us launch. The focus of this project is to meet two goals; one is to help provide local folks with the skills, knowledge and training to earn short-term credentials and be able to enter the high-demand, high-wage construction industry," said Allen Golden, director of the college, in a statement. "The second goal is to do so while helping solve the growing issue of a shortage of affordable housing in our service area. I look forward to using this grant to launch this partnership with Habitat for Humanity, in an effort that I believe will be replicable for other areas around the state as well!"

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Cleveland High School Breaks Ground on Modernization

    Portland Public Schools in Portland, Ore., recently announced that construction has begun on a modernization project for Cleveland High School, according to a news release. The existing building will be replaced with a new, 300,000-square-foot facility at the same site.

  • school building with glowing circuit board patterns

    AI Is Coming to Schools — But Most School Buildings Still Run on Institutional Memory

    As school districts race to introduce AI into classrooms, administration, and curriculum planning, another conversation is happening behind the scenes: How prepared are school facilities themselves for the operational demands AI will create?

  • Building Beyond Simulation: Creating Immersive Ecosystems for Healthcare Education

    Health sciences education is one of the fastest-growing facility types in colleges and universities. The demand for medical, nursing, and allied health professionals is driving the creation and renovation of medical simulation training facilities that provide students with real-world experience through advanced simulation-based learning.

  • New Jersey Day School Opens New Science & Entrepreneurship Building

    Saddle River Day School (SRDS) in Saddle River, N.J., recently celebrated the grand opening of the new Dr. Kristen Walsh Hall of Science & Entrepreneurship, according to a news release. The school partnered with DIG Architecture on the 32,000 square foot facility, completed on a 17-month construction timeline in time for the beginning of the new school year.