Montelores Futures Fair Connects Students With Local Career Opportunities
Roughly 150 students attended the Montelores Futures Fair on December 4 at the Montezuma County Fairgrounds to explore career and training pathways from local employers and postsecondary institutions. The event illuminated workforce options for Dolores County youth and underscored opportunities and gaps for local leaders to strengthen career education and job pipelines.
The Montelores Futures Fair brought local employers, training programs and public safety agencies together with area high school students on December 4 at the Montezuma County Fairgrounds. Organized by the Southwest Colorado Education Collaborative, the event drew about 150 students who visited approximately 65 exhibitor tables representing local districts including Dolores and Dove Creek. Students used passport booklets to guide their visits and entered a raffle to encourage exploration of multiple career options.
Participating organizations included PCC Southwest, Colorado Forest Service, Les Schwab Tires, Dolores State Bank and Southwest Health System among other employers, trades groups and educational representatives. Interactive booths featured construction demonstrations and robotics displays, while search and rescue teams with a veteran canine and local law enforcement staffed tables to explain pathways into public safety and related careers. Postsecondary representatives were on hand to describe certificate and degree options that align with area industries.
Teachers and program managers who attended said the fair helped build student awareness of local career routes and reinforced job readiness skills that schools aim to teach. For many students from rural districts, in person exposure to employers and hands on demonstrations can make abstract career choices concrete and reveal opportunities they might not otherwise see.
The event has practical implications for local policy and institutional planning. School boards, county officials and community colleges can use fairs like this as a barometer for workforce needs and as a platform to expand apprenticeship and dual enrollment options. Transportation, sustained funding for career and technical education and formal partnerships between schools and employers are areas where local leaders can act to convert student interest into local employment and training pipelines.
For Dolores County residents and officials the fair highlighted both existing strengths and persistent gaps in rural workforce development. Continued coordination between districts, community colleges and employers will be important to translate outreach events into long term career outcomes for students and to support the local economy.
