About Us
About Us
Our Purpose
Build Pagosa supports our workforce needs by providing job ready skills to high school students and adults ensuring a labor force that meets the demands of the workplace for the foreseeable future. We are here to help generations break away from the cycle of low-paying hourly jobs, and towards prosperity.
Our History
The gap between educational skills training available in rural Southwest Colorado and the urgent needs of our labor force is vast. In Archuleta County and beyond, Build Pagosa is bridging that gap and creating economic opportunities across the region by providing the facilities, equipment, and instructional resources for evidence-informed Career & Technical Education (CTE). Founded in 2017, we work through regional partnerships with education, industry, and community organizations to invest in high-impact CTE programs and connect students from a wide socioeconomic spectrum with employers to fill dignified, living-wage jobs. Our work amplifies the impact of community partners by bringing together education and industry.
Build Pagosa has invested in teacher development, improved facilities, equipment and supplies for the CTE pathway programs including: Building Trades; Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources; Hospitality (inc. catering/culinary arts), Transportation (inc. automotive and metal fabrication), Health Sciences and Computer Science. Our contributions have extended beyond the classrooms to include sponsoring SkillsUSA competitions, scholarships for CTE students, and support of summer internships.
Our Future
There is a critical need for additional CTE and skills training space to serve our community. We have partnered with the Archuleta School District on a plan for a new facility, adjacent to Pagosa Springs High School. Through grants, generous donations and fundraising events, Build Pagosa has raised over $2.3M as of 2024 towards what will be our “Regional Workforce Center” (RWC). In addition, $1.9M in kind donations have been made to Build Pagosa (inc. land, parking, utilities, permits, fee waivers, architectural design, and equipment) for this RWC.
The upcoming Regional Workforce Center (RWC) project has generated significant excitement. Our partners are more enthusiastic than ever about expanding CTE programs, and we’re eager to enhance adult learning opportunities to address labor market needs. For example, we plan to provide facilities and resources that will allow the local hospital and community college system to grow health credentialing programs. Another key initiative is expanding education-industry connections through work-study programs. Managed in partnership with the Pagosa Springs Community Development Corporation (PSCDC), these programs enable students to apply classroom knowledge directly in the workplace, gaining valuable hands-on experience.
We are working to grow our diverse workforce.
Together we can Build Pagosa!
Build Pagosa
Economic Facts
- The Colorado economy is experiencing a skills gap...
- In Southwest Colorado, approximately 57% of high school graduates from rural districts, including Archuleta County, do NOT enroll in college directly after graduation.
- Students choose community colleges for various reasons including affordability, proximity to home, and the pursuit of vocational or technical certifications. About 21% of SW CO graduates attend 2-year institutions, or community colleges
- Nearly 81% of dropouts say relevant, real-world learning opportunities would have kept them in high school.
- The average high school graduation rate for students concentrating in CTE programs is 90.18%, compared to an average national freshman graduation rate of 74.9%.
- More than 70% of secondary CTE concentrators pursued post-secondary education shortly after high school.
- CTE serves 94% of all high school students, including male and female students, students from many races and ethnicities, and students from higher and lower income backgrounds.
- CTE programs offer crucial industry credentials that high schoolers can begin earning even before graduation, often through concurrent enrollment programs.
College is not for everyone, but a career with a liveable wage should be.
Meet the Build Pagosa Team
