DENVER — Trade schools in Colorado are seeing increased enrollment as students choose cheaper pathways to career fields.
The state saw a 104.7% increase in the total number of people enrolled in trade schools from 2019 to 2023, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Emily Griffith Technical College, a trade school in the heart of Denver, is seeing more students enroll. The college saw a 14.6% increase in students from the 2018-2019 to 2024-2025 school years and has surpassed pre-pandemic enrollment numbers.
The school offers more than 35 programs including accounting, nursing, cosmetology, HVAC, computer networking, woodworking and more. Jordan Gantzler is a certified welder after graduating from the college's nine-month welding program.
"It's definitely cheaper than, like, your normal four year plan, and it's a lot shorter too. I was working full time or at school for only, like, nine months. So I got all that experience and everything, and I'm ready to go into the field now after just nine months," Gantzler said.
Divine Martinez will begin the practical nursing program at Emily Griffith in January. She said she will take classes two nights a week and become a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) after 18 months. Since she's a part time student, Martinez is also able to work an apprenticeship learning basic Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) skills at Denver Health.
"It's not an opportunity that everybody has when you usually go to college. It kind of takes up most of your life for those four years and then even after when you're paying tuition back. So, I'm very excited for not only Emily Griffith's opportunity, but the apprenticeship as well," Martinez said.
A recent study from Fidelity shows 47% of kids said cost is the most important factor when pursuing higher education. In 2021, that number was 40%. The study shows nearly 20% of students said they're likely to consider other education options, including trade schools, which is up from 6% in 2021.
"I think tuition is sharply increasing, and it's even outpacing inflation, and wages just aren't keeping up. Universities have shifted some of those costs onto the students due to decreased state funding, and families are just forced juggling hiring expenses, mortgages, rent payments, medical bills, child care, things like that," VP of Operations for Horizon's North Credit Union Heather DeSchryver, CCUE, said.
Emily Griffith Tech College said 100% of its students graduate debt-free thanks to scholarships, grants and benefits from government programs.
