Bloomberg Philanthropies and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are putting $9.5 million toward helping Colorado students find internships and apprenticeships before they graduate from high school.
The money will be split between the statewide program CareerWise Colorado and Denver Public Schools' CareerConnect, according to a news release sent Wednesday.
Industries are investing more money and time into high school career readiness programs to deal with looming workforce gaps caused by retiring employees and high demand.
During the last three years, Denver schools have raised $8.3 million in grants to bolster the CareerConnect program. Through the program the Denver school district partners with more than 160 companies and organizations to get students engaged in hands-on work-based learning.
JPMorgan Chase dedicated $4 million to Career Connect on Wednesday.
Former New York Gov. Michael Bloomberg's charity organization Bloomberg Philanthropies committed $5.5 million to CareerWise Colorado.
CareerWise will allow high school juniors and seniors to start earning school credits while working and learning on-site of employers. Apprentice students will be employees of partner businesses and be paid a training wage, according to the news release.
Altogether, CareerWise has raised $11 million in financial support.
Business & data reporter Adrian D. Garcia can be reached via email at [email protected] or twitter.com/adriandgarcia.
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