Commerce City Colorado Promise

Program Description:

Commerce City Promise (C3 Promise) is a groundbreaking partnership in Colorado between Commerce City and the Community College of Aurora (CCA) that provides no-cost access to short-term credential programs for all Commerce City residents. Funded through the city’s federally-funded Advancing Commerce City Together (ACT) initiative, the program helps eliminate common cost and access barriers, so residents can pursue meaningful career paths. C3 Promise benefits individuals and families as well as meeting the needs of Commerce City’s growing business community.

CCA and Commerce City announced this new program in 2025, offering free education and job training to all Commerce City residents. The collaborative effort set a goal of helping 71,000 more young people reach economic and social mobility. As a partner, CCA has invested significantly in Career and Technical Education (CTE) to help learners enter in-demand fields, including its new Center for Applied Science and Technology.  

C3 Promise offers no-cost, short-term credentials in high-demand industry sectors including information technology, construction, logistics, manufacturing, healthcare, English as a second language (ESL), and language interpretation. Participants receive support during training through CCA’s education and career services and the city’s Community Well-Being Division. Residents who are accepted into any eligible CCA program are automatically enrolled in C3 Promise, with no additional application or fee required.  

As one of Colorado’s fastest growing diverse cities, Commerce City leaders see C3 Promise as central to efforts to redefine the city for a strong future. Key program champions began conversations in 2024, including the Commerce City Manager and CCA’s President, Provost and VP of Academic Success, and VP of Enrollment Management. The city’s economic development team identified the ACT initiative and federal American Rescue Plan Act funds as a good match for this community investment. Bringing the Adams 14 school district into the conversation was pivotal for defining the program. The district offered space and, together, CCA and Adams 14 built on an existing K-12 Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) program; working with the college, those learners could earn a credential or degree while completing their high school diploma. With initial public investments from both CCA and the city, this innovative collaboration also had early support from Rocky Mountain Partnership Cradle to Career and Gary Community Ventures. Rocky Mountain Partnership often bridges the gap between public and private entities in the surrounding counties and metro areas, grounding the work beyond temporary federal funding. A part of the educational infrastructure, C3 Promise offers residents a path to high-demand, good paying jobs and career advancement while helping the city address its growing workforce needs. 

How It Works:

Commerce City has historically been Colorado’s industrial and transportation hub, with rail lines, refineries, warehouses and distribution, and is projected to have large population growth over the coming decades, benefiting from newly developed transportation and infrastructure in the metropolis. Commerce City shares a highly diverse population with nearby Aurora, one of the largest cities in the state, with a population over 400,000, and about 20 percent of residents born outside of the U.S.  

Recently, Commerce City has seen a decline in public community college access, so C3 Promise works with students who travel to one of a few campuses or complete coursework online. C3 Promise also works on-site in the local community, with a placement specialist who makes connections to the local employment pipeline and helps learners transition into a career. This specialist may offer career and financial literacy coaching and answer specific questions to support the learner’s transition into what might be their first professional position. In this earn and learn model, learners can be employed and improve their economic conditions sooner than other opportunities, such as a full degree program, would offer.

The program also hopes to expand its footprint by offering more courses locally, leveraging existing community resources to do so. The Adams 14 school district in Commerce City has offered spaces, including The Hope Center, a repurposed elementary school that serves adult learners and offers many wraparound services. This possibility of integrating with other local services, could lead to Hope Center graduates participating in C3 Promise and could facilitate additional collaborations.  

Impact:

The program has 120 learners who are currently in or have completed the program, who live in Commerce City and beyond. The program hopes to serve 100 learners in the coming year in Commerce City alone, nearly doubling the number of all learners participating.  

To date, learners have gained certifications in a range of areas, including towards CNA, EMT, phlebotomy, and behavioral health certifications such as addiction specialist, as well as in diesel technology and in ESL. Going forward, C3 Promise plans to expand in construction, advanced manufacturing, entry-level healthcare, and a vocational ESL towards gaining work-relevant language skills. The program also continues to find and work with new industry partners.

Once one company joins as a partner, their results demonstrate the program’s value for others. In its field, Wagner Equipment Co. led the way, not only helping to design the diesel power mechanics curriculum, but also sponsoring learners and supporting their own employees to go through the program. Along with Transwest in the same field, both have found the program is invaluable for upskilling their employees, sharing their experience with other local employers.

For the future, C3 Promise plans to track specific metrics to measure their progress. They will want to know if they have connected learners with jobs and course correct as needed to reach that goal. The program would also look for salary data, to show that participants earn more than the median salary for someone with a high school diploma.  

The C3 Promise expands from a traditional emphasis on access and career readiness straight through to career attainment. Goals for this program include training and facilitating employment for at least 100 learners in the first year and expanding that goal annually. The model is based on the Workforce Pell metrics of 70 percent program completion within 150 percent of the traditional timeframe and 70 percent employment within 6 months of completion. Currently, the youngest participant is 16 and the oldest is 54 years old.