CareerWise Colorado and UnitedHealthcare to Launch Apprenticeship Program in Mesa County

• UnitedHealthcare to fund a CareerWise program manager position
  in Mesa County
• Apprenticeship program will create employment opportunities with
  long-term impact

DENVER–(BUSINESS WIRE)–UnitedHealthcare and CareerWise Colorado will help expand CareerWise
Colorado youth apprenticeships in Mesa County, along Colorado’s Western
Slope.

UnitedHealthcare will fund a Mesa County-based program manager position
for the next two years to enhance CareerWise’s efforts in the greater
Grand Junction area. The program manager’s role is to work with local
CareerWise Colorado partners to develop, launch and manage
apprenticeship opportunities for working-age high-school students in
Mesa County.

“Grand Junction is an innovative and motivated community that sees the
power of this program and has hit the ground running to promote these
apprenticeships. Our partners, like the Grand Junction Chamber of
Commerce, Mesa School District 51 and Western Colorado Community
College, are doing incredible work to ensure students have the skills
needed to continue growing the local economy. We thank UnitedHealthcare
for funding this new program manager position, which we believe will be
invaluable to the community,” said Noel Ginsburg, founding CEO of
CareerWise Colorado.

CareerWise is shaping Colorado’s workforce through innovative,
business-led youth apprenticeships. The nonprofit coordinates
apprenticeships among businesses, students and educators that create
long-term impact. Students completing the program earn wages while
gaining real-world skills, industry credentials and college credit that
provide them with options to enter the workplace in high-paying jobs or
continue their education. Businesses benefit from the program as they
take a more hands-on approach to building their own skilled and loyal
workforces.

“CareerWise apprenticeships help local businesses grow and succeed,”
said Beth Soberg, CEO, UnitedHealthcare of Colorado. “UnitedHealthcare
is grateful for the opportunity to partner with CareerWise to develop
the potential of youth in communities along the Western Slope, and to
support the growth of this apprenticeship program in the communities of
Mesa County.”

The Mesa County-based program manager will help ensure students are
employed by training company partners starting later this summer.
Participating businesses will offer positions in technology fields,
project management and business operations, and advanced manufacturing.

About CareerWise Colorado:

CareerWise Colorado is building a statewide system of youth
apprenticeships that create pathways for students to access high-demand,
high-paying careers at leading Colorado companies. Student apprentices
also work toward high school graduation and earn postsecondary credit,
industry credentials or both in their chosen career path. Established by
the Business Experiential-Learning (BEL) Commission created by Gov. John
Hickenlooper and chaired by Noel Ginsburg, CEO of Intertech Plastics,
CareerWise Colorado will launch its first apprenticeships in 2017 in
school districts in metro Denver, the Northern Front Range, and the
Western Slope. 20,000 youth apprentices, or about 10 percent of Colorado
students in their last two years of high school, are expected to
participate by 2027. More information about CareerWise Colorado is
available at http://www.careerwisecolorado.org/
or follow @CareerWiseCO on Twitter.

About UnitedHealthcare

UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people nationwide live
healthier lives by simplifying the health care experience, meeting
consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships
with care providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health
benefit programs for individuals, employers, military service members,
retirees and their families, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries,
and contracts directly with more than 1 million physicians and care
professionals, and 6,000 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide.
UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:
UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company. For more
information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com
or follow @myUHC on Twitter.

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Contacts

UnitedHealthcare
Lisa Contreras, 520-444-6600
Lisa_Contreras@uhc.com
or
CareerWise
Colorado
Ryan Gensler, 720-891-5917
ryan.gensler@careerwisecolorado.org