Partners
The businesses that hire, and the schools that prepare them. If you run a shop, a resort, a plant, or a floor in the Pikes Peak region, there is a motivated young person here ready to meet you, and a straightforward way to bring them on.
The talent gap is a business problem, and a fixable one
The skilled-worker shortage is not a distant forecast for Pikes Peak employers; it is showing up in unfinished bids, stretched crews, and shifts you cannot cover. Jumpstart exists to close that gap with talent grown right here at home.
The shortage is already here
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects about 70,000 job openings a year for automotive service technicians and mechanics through 2034. Electricians, plumbers, machinists, and mechanics are aging out faster than they can be replaced, and no amount of overtime fixes a pipeline problem. Jumpstart builds the next generation before the gap becomes a crisis.
Ready to work, not a stack of résumés
Local contractors and operators tell us the same thing: the hardest part is not posting a job, it is finding someone who shows up ready to learn and grow. At our automotive Draft Day, more than 50 students practiced real interviews and workplace skills with local employers, so the candidates you meet arrive coachable and genuinely motivated.
Talent that stays local
Every young person Jumpstart champions is from right here in the Pikes Peak region, and they want to build a life here. Our most recent Draft Day drew students from more than 10 area school districts and colleges. That means less churn, lower hiring costs, and crews that put down roots in the community you serve.
The businesses that show up
We are grateful to the local businesses that show up for Draft Day, across automotive, hospitality, care, building, and manufacturing, and sit down with our students.
What our partners say
These are the local employers and educators who show up to Draft Day, sit across the table from a nervous student, and open a real first step.
On the automotive side, this has been an industry we've struggled to place kids in and grow. Draft Day is a resource for kids who maybe don't want to go straight to college but are looking for a real career path. And a technician is not something AI can replace.
Warren WeimerService Director, Corwin Toyota and Corwin HondaDraft Day is our next generation of career growth. Our candidates have to come from somewhere, and we want to make sure we're hiring locally, right here in the community.
Katie CoaleDirector of Human Resources, Garden of the Gods Resort and ClubDraft Day is a great way to connect our students to the industry and the community. They learn foundational and professional skills in our culinary classrooms, and Draft Day is where they’re ready to find a job.
Andrea AragonCulinary Arts and Hospitality Teacher, District 11 OdysseyMeet local talent before anyone else
You do not need an HR department or a training budget to get in early. Host an apprentice, mentor a young person, or hire at Draft Day. Most partners start with one and grow from there.
Host an apprentice
Open a paid spot on your crew or floor for a motivated young person. We screen and match; you bring the real work. It is the lowest-risk way to try out a hire before you commit to one.
Mentor the next generation
Your best journeyman, chef, or line lead knows things no classroom teaches. Pair them with a young person and that craft gets passed forward, an hour at a time, on the jobs they already do.
Hire at Draft Day
Sit across the table from motivated local students and offer a real first step. Some leave with an offer, like Peyton, who lined up a summer role at Corwin Toyota. You meet a proven fit before a resume ever changes hands.
Your next hire is closer than you think
One paid placement, an afternoon of mentorship, or a standing spot on your crew: whatever you can offer, a young person in Colorado Springs is ready to meet you halfway.
Getting started is a conversation, not a contract. Tell us about your business, the roles you struggle to fill, the shifts you need covered, the craft you want to pass on, and we will map a partnership that fits the way you actually work.
Since 2022, Jumpstart has paired local ambition with local opportunity across the region, with our automotive Draft Day as the proven flagship event. Your company can be the door a young person walks through, and the answer to a hiring problem you have been carrying for too long.
Invest in the workforce you are counting on
Partnering puts a young person to work; giving builds the program that gets them there. Your gift funds the training, mentorship, and apprenticeships that keep skilled talent flowing across the Pikes Peak region, in Reilly's memory.
Other ways to get involved
Your time and connections change lives too.