Meet Ryan, Partner of Industry
Greetings CCIC Industry Partners,
As we welcome the end to another school year, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support and engagement with our CCIC/CCSD students. Your participation in our programs has played a significant role in helping our students develop the industry skills and experience they need to succeed in their careers and rebuild our local economy. In addition, your partnerships have helped open the conversation regarding more meaningful and thoughtful postgraduate planning for our youth.
With that said, I am thrilled to introduce myself as the new Partner of Industry for the Cherry Creek Innovation Campus and the Cherry Creek School District. I am truly honored to be given the trust and confidence of the community to engage with our industry partners and to enhance work-based learning experiences for our students. My background includes seven years working within the private sector as a Financial Planner for HSBC, and fifteen years as a counselor within the Cherry Creek School District. As the new Partner of Industry, I am excited to combine my experiences within education and the private sector to drive CTE opportunities for students.
As I reflect on the year, it is with great pride and excitement to share that CCSD has seen a 25% increase in growth year-over-year in students participating in internship experiences with industry partners. Internships do a great job of providing students with short career exploration experiences designed to offer exposure to a variety of different careers. In addition, these students have helped our industry partners fill their labor gaps, serving as interns, while also helping keep labor costs down in the face high inflation. The time is truly ripe for education and industry to join forces in order to help rebuild our economy. In addition, we have seen a 131% increase in growth year-over year in students participating in newly registered apprenticeships! As you can tell, we have been busy at the CCIC, diligently working with those industry partners interested in registering an apprenticeship with the Department of Labor. With the resources we have access to at the state level along with a retention rate of 93% for students who complete a two-year registered apprenticeship, it’s no surprise that our industry partners are warming up to the idea of building an apprenticeship with us.
While these numbers are exciting to celebrate, we must give credit to the great Centennial State of Colorado for the passing of House Bill 21-007, which helped create the State Apprenticeship Agency. This agency serves as a primary point of contact between the United States Department of Labor and the industry partner building their apprenticeship with the goal of accelerating new apprenticeship program approvals. In addition, HB21-007 funded the Work-Based Learning Incentive Program (WBLI), which provides organizations up to $10,000 in financial incentives for creating and building new apprenticeship programs for our youth to earn while they learn. If reading this exciting news interests you and your organization, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me! I’d love to engage in more meaningful conversations with our industry partners regarding building more apprenticeships. We have significant resources and support from the state that we are happy to deploy to your organization, should you decide to build an apprenticeship program and host a Cherry Creek student.
With the collective student loan debt in America now topping a staggering 1.76 trillion dollars, there has never been a better time for organizations to begin building modern youth apprenticeships to attract the new talent pipeline who may be questioning the value of college, considering its high cost.
As we close the school year and begin to plan for next year, I want to once again express my sincere gratitude to each of our industry partners. Your interest in our students and your willingness to invest in our youth is how we will ensure an attractive labor market, retain our local talent, and safeguard the growth of our local economy.
I wish each of you and your families a wonderful summer season and I truly look forward to connecting with each of you in August, when we return from summer break.
Respectfully,
Ryan Seely
Partner of Industry
Industry Tour with Big Metal Additives
The CCIC is grateful for our partnership with Big Metal Additives.
What does York Space Systems' salsa contest has to do with a CCIC student?
Cherry Creek Innovation Campus (CCIC) is proud to have established a strong partnership with York Space Systems, a renowned leader in the space industry. As part of this collaboration, CCIC students were given an incredible opportunity to work on an industry-sponsored project for York Space Systems.
The challenge was to create the most innovative trophy for York Space Systems' upcoming salsa contest, and Trevor Watters, one of CCIC's exceptional Product Design students, rose to the occasion. With his remarkable creativity and ingenuity, Trevor crafted a trophy that surpassed all expectations, capturing the hearts of York Space Systems' CEO Dirk Wallinger and Vice President of Operations Angelina Smith.
This accomplishment not only highlights the talent and dedication of CCIC students but also showcases the meaningful impact of industry partnerships in nurturing the next generation of innovators by creating real industry sponsored projects for our students to complete.
CTE Career & Hiring Fair April 27th, 2023
The CCIC is thrilled to announce the success of this year's "Hiring Fair" at Cherry Creek Innovation Campus (CCIC) and want to extend our gratitude to our industry partners who played a crucial role in making it a success. As part of our ongoing commitment to providing exceptional career opportunities for our students, the CCIC decided to revamp the traditional "Career Fair" model. Instead, we introduced the innovative concept of a "Hiring Fair" where only companies actively seeking to hire, offer internships, or apprenticeships were invited. In addition, we offered live breakout sessions for students and families covering Interviewing Skills, Resume Writing Skills, and alternative Post Graduate Options.
This strategic shift proved to be a game-changer for our students, creating an environment of purposeful conversations and fostering meaningful connections between our talented students and industry professionals. The event witnessed an unprecedented level of enthusiasm from both our students and participating partners, resulting in numerous successful matches and invaluable networking opportunities.
With over 60 companies present and over 200 students in attendance, live interviews took place with industry where entry level employment/internship and apprenticeship opportunities were offered on the spot!
We commend our industry partners for their unwavering support and dedication in shaping the future workforce, and we look forward to continued collaboration and partnership as we invest in our students pathways of purpose.
Pathway Development Day is a day for Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers of Cherry Creek Schools to gather in collaboration and discourse. In efforts to provide the most innovative, industry-aligned curriculum to our students, teachers need to hear from you. What's new in the industry? What are recent changes you are seeing in software/hardware/equipment? What certifications should our students be earning? What are current, or potential, disruptors that you anticipate impacting our near-future workforce? What are your biggest hiring challenges?
If you are interested in serving on an industry panel that will provide a casual Q & A format for our teachers, please fill out this form. Various content areas will meet on assigned days. Please select the day/content area that aligns to the industry you represent.
Teachers will hear from our industry panels from 10:30am to 11:30am on their content area's assigned day. Lunch will be provided.
Click on the button below to see the available dates and register
