PPBEA Pikes Peak Business and Education Alliance

The Pikes Peak Business and Education Alliance (PPBEA) is a career-connected learning intermediary serving El Paso & Teller counties, Colorado. We are hosted as an In School Youth Program of the Pikes Peak Workforce Center.

The launch of the initiative on July 1, 2019 was the culmination of a two year, collaborative human centered design effort amongst multiple public school districts, charter school partners, industry leaders and economic development partners to refocus the K-12 education system with the purpose of “accelerating and enhancing student career development and employer talent attraction through organized sequenced and scalable career connected learning.”

PPBEA's primary role as a community intermediary is to build experiential and informational bridges between our rapidly changing economy, our workforce development ecosystem, and the K-12 education system.

At the center of this collaboration is the practice of career-connected learning. Examples of career-connected learning activities include career information panel sessions, class presentations delivered by industry professionals, worksite tours, job shadows and informational interviews, internships, and youth apprenticeships or pre-apprenticeships.

All of these activities are designed to supplement classroom education and provide students an opportunity to explore careers, learn more deeply about specific jobs or occupations, receive training and resume enhancements, and earn industry-recognized certificates in a career of interest, leading to an onramp to an entry-level, self-supporting career upon graduation from high school or post-secondary education.

Program milestones achieved after our fourth year of operation in June 2023 include:

• Surpassed 10,000 education staff and students served
• Surpassed 1,000 unique career-connected learning activities hosted
• by area businesses
• Surpassed 30,000 seats of career exploration and training activities
• for students
• Recognition as a Colorado state best practice
• Recognition as a national best practice