State funding approved during last year’s legislative session looks to open the doors for recent graduates while also filling the Colorado’s current workforce needs.

Opportunity Next Colorado is a one-time $25 million scholarship program for Class of 2024 high school graduates and students with equivalent credentials for the 2024-2025 academic year.

The scholarship is specifically designed to aid students pursuing post-secondary education or training towards eight high-priority career pathways in the state.

Scholarship recipients may receive up to $1,500 to help cover tuition, fees, books and equipment for the advanced manufacturing, computer and information science, education, engineering and technology, family and social sciences, health professions and transportation fields.

In Colorado Springs, Pikes Peak State College currently offers programs and certifications for all the career pathways except transportation.

The college’s vice president for instructional services Jacquelyn Gaiters-Jordan said the new funding for these specific career paths is the newest way to attract recent graduates towards a future they may not have thought was attainable before.

“It’s right there in the name, this is to help our recent Colorado graduates discover their next opportunity,” she said.

Degree-seeking students are not required to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the Colorado Application for State Financial Aid (CAFSA) to be awarded the Opportunity Next scholarship, but would need to complete a waiver form confirming their inability to complete either. Non-degree seeking students are exempt from the FAFSA/CASFA requirement/waiver.

The scholarship will be awarded to eligible students upon enrollment with a state college that provides at least one program aligned with one of the eight high-priority pathways, with priority given to students pursuing those pathways.

At Pikes Peak State College, Gaiters-Jordan said this funding could potentially help students pay for equipment such as specialized uniforms, protective footwear and other safety equipment and software for the school’s technology programs.

In addition to just providing funding for eligible graduates, the program also seeks to connect seniors and their families with coaches and counseling to help them determine their career path and navigate them through the application processes for financial aid like FAFSA and CAFSA.

The need for the program came following recent studies identifying a workforce gap throughout the state. Colorado currently has two available jobs for every unemployed person in the state and is among the five states in the country with the largest share of jobs requiring education or training projected by 2031.

According to a spring report for the state’s talent pipeline, Colorado is one of the nation’s leaders in economic prosperity but has mirrored the rest of the country in labor shortages following the COVID-19 pandemic. One recent response to this trend has been employers adopting short-term credential attainment as prerequisites to landing particular jobs. In 2021, The Colorado Department of Higher Education shifted its methodology for postsecondary attainment to include a wider age range and more accurate estimates of short-term credential attainment.

In recent years, PPSC has expanded their program offerings to include a veterinary tech degree, a dental assistant degree and free medical programs through previous state funds to address recent workforce challenges.

Gaiters-Jordan added that many incoming graduates eligible for this program’s funding may additionally qualify for other financial aid upon completing the FAFSA form. Through the Colorado Promise Program, students with family incomes of $90,000 or less are guaranteed out-of-pocket reimbursement for tuition and fees for their first two years of college.

She noted the “myriad amount of changes” that both the costs of higher education and the guarantees of financial aid have undergone in recent decades and that students are more hesitant to pursue postsecondary options these days.

She added that additional challenges and experiences stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic have increased uncertainty for continued education for this year’s graduates.

“We recognize that these recent graduates are just coming out of a wave of time of great uncertainty,” Gaiters-Jordan said. “So hopefully this can provide them with an opportunity for their future with some certainty.”