As business and industry continues to grow throughout the Pikes Peak region, so does its need for a workforce to meet their demands.

Recognizing these rapid developments, the Pikes Peak Business and Education Alliance launched in July 2019 to increase the local talent pool and recalibrate the K-12 education system through organized career-connected learning.

“What we’re doing here is something very innovative, in its structure and its partnership” said Bob Gemignani, director of the alliance.

The business and education alliance is a public/private partnership initiative through the Pikes Peak Workforce Center that connects middle and high school students with businesses in high-demand industries such as computer science, business and trades and provides them on-the-job training.

According to Gemignani, the association served over 12,000 students and staff over the past school year.

On Monday, 47 students who had completed 60-hour internships with 18 of these businesses over the summer were recognized at the Pikes Peak Workforce Center.

“My experience with my internship was pretty eye-opening,” D-49 student Natalie Taylor said. “I learned a lot about collaborating with other people and teamwork…and how you can teach each other.”

Since the Pikes Peak Business and Education Alliance’s founding, interested students in El Paso and Teller county schools have connected with local employers through job shadows and informational interviews, internships, and youth apprenticeships.

For students like Taylor, who interned with the artificial intelligence (AI) company Infinite 8 Industries, the experience provided them with a clearer idea of a future career by learning applicable skills outside the classroom along with social capital going forward.

Looking back at the past summer, Infinite 8 founder Ean Mikale said his 12 student interns were “expected to swim” in a “pool of quantum AI and blockchain” early on. He remarked how these challenges can prepare them for their next step coming out of high school.

“A lot of this isn’t necessarily taught in the educational system,” Mikale said.

“And so, the purpose is to try that technology and that knowledge transfer to make sure that they’re getting what’s going on in industry today and that it’s not that long where you go to college and then it takes two or three years to actually trickle into the educational system.”

The internships are intended to supplement students’ K-12 education by providing them with opportunities to explore careers, receive training and even earn certificates in a field of interest ahead of their graduation from high school or post-secondary education.

The association also provides information to students and families about the “economic landscape” which considers the need or return-on-investment in post-secondary education for individual students or their career goals.

Academy District 20 student Joshua Dreesman completed his internship with Think Green Computers wanting to pursue a career in computer science, but also found himself developing skills beyond just repairs or engineering. Part of his work had him making sales and interacting with customers regularly, developing soft communication skills.

Regardless of where his career ultimately takes him, he says his experience over the summer will always serve him well.

“If my own computer ever breaks down now, I can always fix it,” Dreesman said. “I’ll always know how to do that, since I took this internship.”

To get accepted for one of the internships, a student begins by submitting an application through the alliance to any of the business partners they are interested in, which are followed up with interviews with both the businesses and the alliance before being paired with a business.

Although students are provided the opportunity to kickstart a future career, the no-cost experience also allows them to dip their toes into a possible career without having to commit too much time or money into it.

U.S. Small Business Administration Region VIII Administrator Aikta Marcoulier emphasized this point during her keynote address to the students and their families, noting how it took herself multiple years in college and career changes before eventually finding the work she wants to do for a living.

She added that this process is incredibly common for students coming out of high school.

“I do love my job … but I sure wish that I had a faster path to get there, one that my peers and community knew about to get me involved earlier,” she said. “I wish that I had known that success can come in all forms of education … As long as you’re proud of what you do and you have the support to get there, that is what matters.”

Many of the partnering businesses have also gone on to hire students immediately following their internship, with managers at Marriott Colorado Springs already hiring both of their interns from the summer.

Other businesses like SSA Group, who provide food services for companies like Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, hire students for part-time work as they finish high school while also introducing them to the career opportunities for retail, admissions and dining.

Sooner or later, the outcomes of students have often led to future careers.

Laura Ferguson-Beahan, a computer science teacher in the Woodland Park School District, has seen many of her students take part in the program over the years. One of them would complete a cybersecurity internship years ago before ultimately dropping out of high school.

Six months ago, she received an email from the student telling her that they had since earned their GED and are now taking classes to become a cybersecurity professional.

“Because of his experience with our internship programs and feeling connected, he has completely turned his life around,” she said.

Students, families and businesses interested in learning more about the Pikes Peak Business and Education Alliance can visit the website at https://ppbea.org/.