Talent Ready Utah joined the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education in 2022. It began in 2015 as an initiative of the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity with the inception of the Utah Aerospace Pathways program. In December of 2014, Boeing approached Utah to create a workforce development program to build its talent pipeline and fill high-demand jobs shared across multiple Utah aerospace companies.

This initiative led to a unique partnership between numerous government agencies, technical and higher education organizations, and employers. Through this partnership, we launched the Utah Aerospace Pathways program in September 2015. Employers designed the program, specifying the knowledge and skillsets students needed to begin a successful career in the aerospace industry following their high school graduation.

Since the program’s inception, Talent Ready Utah has had a proud tradition of partnering with education and employers across various industries to implement similar workforce development programs. These programs provide students with career exploration while building the talent pipeline for sectors with significant economic impacts on the state.

In 2019, Talent Ready Utah added two additional programs to meet the needs of employers while providing students and individuals with increased skills training and heightened opportunities for continued education.

The Utah Works program provides short-term skills training to individuals looking to start their careers. Individuals looking to skill up in a matter of a few short weeks can do so as they participate in a fully paid, streamlined program, while employers see an immediate return on their investment to build their workforce.

The Talent Ready Apprenticeship Connection (TRAC) provides high school students with apprenticeship opportunities while earning a college degree. This approach was adapted from the Swiss Apprenticeship model, allowing students to start career training earlier by splitting their time between the classroom and the workplace to maximize their learning experience and get a head start in earning their college degree.