Residents urge county to expand apprenticeships, trades and digital-skills training

Bernalillo County residents and local stakeholders at a community dialogue in the North Valley on a July evening urged county leaders to prioritize apprenticeship pathways, trade certifications and digital-skills training as part of the county’s economic development strategy.

Participants told facilitators they want expanded access to union construction trades, pre-apprenticeship programs, vocational certificates and digital literacy courses that connect directly to local employers. “Providing accessible opportunities for people to gain certification in those areas is something that we thought was very important,” said Thomas, a table reporter, summarizing his group’s discussion about creating pathways into union jobs and trades.

The discussion repeatedly returned to the idea of helping small, local businesses grow so communities can “thrive versus survive,” Thomas said. Other table reporters noted the importance of soft-skills training, high-school career pathways and second-career opportunities. One participant pointed to Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) as an existing local partner that can offer industry-specific training to prospective employers and employees.

County staff framed the session as the start of a larger community-driven process to shape economic development policy and programming. “We have organized these community dialogues in response to a request from the Bernalillo County Commission,” said Marcos Gonzales, executive development officer for Bernalillo County. Gonzales asked attendees to complete survey materials and said the community input will guide any amendments to county financing policies and future programming.

Facilitators collected table worksheets and said responses will undergo thematic analysis and be combined with other dialogues across the county. Antonio Nomai, event staff, collected written responses and helped assemble the group’s input for analysis.

Next steps identified during the event include integrating the themed community input into the county steering committee’s work and producing a compiled report to the county commission in coming months. County staff told attendees the process will culminate in a report expected in October that will include research and community findings.

The session included multiple small-group reports highlighting common themes: stronger ties between training providers and employers, more accessible incentives for small businesses (beyond those available only to large firms), and targeted outreach to youth and residents for trade- and industry-specific pathways.

County officials encouraged continued participation via additional dialogues and an online survey posted at burnco.gov, and said steering-committee members will review the combined findings and bring recommendations to the county commission in the fall and early winter.