By Lanna Hernandez | Marketing Coordinator Apprentice, CareerWise
From opening a school email regarding an apprenticeship opportunity to becoming a Business Operations Associate working in Community Planning and Development for the City of Denver, Andrew Colberg has had many accomplishments and achievements to help him build his career ready skill sets in high school. “My greatest achievement as an apprentice so far would be the process improvement I did as a part of the Cashier’s Office. Spotting an ineffective process, researching ways to improve it, implementing my solution, and testing said solution was a massive accomplishment for me on both a personal and professional level. The process was a daily reconciliation and the improvement saves on average an hour and thirty minutes per day.” Andrew explained.
Through his apprenticeship, Andrew has learned how to best manage high school, his personal life, and working part time at his apprenticeship. With a tight commute schedule, Andrew finds the time to grow as a professional and is willing to put in the work to become success-driven. Working in an aligned apprenticeship with your future dream career has helped many young adults such as Andrew to be able to get a true hands-on experience, “I have really enjoyed the work I have done with the City and County of Denver and I do plan on having a career that lines up with the work I am currently doing. I enjoy the work I do and am proud of the time and effort I put in.”
Success, drive, passion, and impactful work, these are all things that are hard to come by as a teenager in high school. Andrew’s apprenticeship has helped him gain industry focused skill sets that normally professionals would be receiving in their late twenties, along with rewards, certifications, and experience that are advantageous for these apprentices’ resumes and LinkedIn profiles. “I was just hoping to have something that would look good on a college application or job resume; however, after working with CPD my apprenticeship has ended up being a life changing experience for me.” Andrew found interest and purpose in his apprenticeship by finding what career aligned most with his passions and only excelled from there.
By building his network and gaining skills, Andrew was able to find success in his industry at a very young age. “I took the opportunity of an apprenticeship because I wanted to gain some job experience that may help me in future job endeavors. I chose the City and County of Denver because working in community planning and development interested me.”
Andrew continues to do great work for the City of Denver and is a role model for his peers and co-workers. He goes on to show that no matter what age, what background, or what school you attend, success is obtainable by any person willing to find the opportunity and work for it.