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SOCO Community Colleges Address Workforce Needs

Southern Colorado’s community colleges are ramping up their offerings to fill workplace gaps and instituting new programs to make sure their graduates are job-ready.

At Pikes Peak State College, a new four-year degree program will prepare students to work in behavioral health, a field with a statewide lack of care access, due in part to provider shortages.

Pueblo Community College is adding several programs for students to earn credentials in health care, which, along with technical jobs, is an area where vacancies exceed all other fields.

Trinidad State College, which celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2025, is gearing up for the next century with new degrees in computer information systems and business administration.

Pikes Peak State College will begin offering a bachelor of applied science degree in behavioral health in the fall of 2025, PPSC Chief of Staff Jim Mancall says. The college already offers an Associate of Applied Science degree in behavioral health, with emphasis in mental health and social work or addiction recovery, and several certificates that students can earn along the way.

A dental hygiene accreditation program will start next summer at the newly renovated Delta Dental Oral Health Career Center, Mancall says.

“It is challenging for students interested in dental hygiene in the Colorado Springs area to find a program,” he says. “This is a high-demand, high-wage employment opportunity, so we’re expecting students will have real opportunities once they graduate.”

Mancall says a two-year engineering technician degree now in development also will provide high-wage job opportunities for graduates. Mancall expects the program to be online in fall 2025.

The college is partnering with Microchip Technology, InnovaFlex Foundry and Entegris to develop a three-semester semiconductor technician program, which will launch in the spring to upskill, their employees.

“We welcome ideas and opportunities to partner with companies on upskilling current employees or providing credentials and certificate programs for their employees,” he says.

Pueblo Community College serves businesses and students in Pueblo County and from its satellite facilities in Cañon City and Mancos, President Chato Hazelbaker says. Although there is interplay between campuses, such as shared curriculum in nursing and law enforcement, programs can be tailored to local needs. 

“In January, we are launching a new forestry program in the Mancos-Durango area,” Hazelbaker says. “That doesn’t exist in Pueblo or Cañon City.”

Across the system, PCC is developing “year to career” programs. 

“These are essentially micropathways, and the first couple will be in medical coding and patient care technician,” he says. These programs allow students to earn industry-recognized credentials in a relatively short time, and numerous employers, particularly in mental health, are looking for employees who have them.

PCC has a strong automotive program and is Colorado’s first community college to develop electric vehicle courses, Hazelbaker says. 

“We’re adding two additional EV courses in the fall of 2025 to make sure those students are getting the latest certificates,” he says. 

Next spring, PCC is launching bachelor of applied science degrees in cybersecurity and business administration, and the college is developing a four-year degree in behavioral health, Hazelbaker says. 

The college works closely with local businesses and even with unions to develop apprenticeships.

“Many of the unions have existing apprenticeship programs. As we look to grow apprenticeships, that’s one of the things we’re really focusing on,” Hazelbaker says.

Entering its second century and developing a 10-year strategic plan, Trinidad State College is looking to address current industry needs and expand to help create demand for industries, jobs and technologies of the future, thus changing the region’s economic climate, says Jim Kynor, TSC’s vice president of operations and business development.

Upgrades to the college’s Associate of Applied Science in computer information systems and a Bachelor of Applied Science in business administration with a concentration in management — deployed this year — will address that mission, he says. 

Students pursuing the CIS degree can specialize in cybersecurity, database administration or cloud administration and secure CompTIA industry certifications to begin working while completing their degrees.

The BAS in business administration allows students to build upon certificates and associate degrees they have already earned. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, job openings and salaries for managers with degrees in business administration are expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations between now and 2033.

“We’re hearing from our industry partners that when we get these programs into place and educate a critical mass, we will see more businesses relocate and then employ these graduates,” Kynor says. 

Although the college will continue to offer agriculture, welding, automotive, nursing and other programs on its Trinidad and Alamosa campuses, “we want to bring in new programs that will allow our youth to want to remain where they are,” he says.


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