UCAN's Apprenticeship Ready Program Graduates Its Latest Class at National Western Center
On July 11, 2026, the National Western Center hosted a Grand Opening celebration — and at the center of it was a group of young men from North Denver who had just completed something real.
UCAN's Apprenticeship Ready Program graduated its latest class that day. Every student received a completion certificate and an OSHA 10 certification card. And every single one of them has been accepted into a trade program with the unions.
What Happened on July 11
The Grand Opening brought together the Mayor of Denver, representatives from the Denver Economic Development and Opportunity office, leadership from the National Western Stock Show, and the community members whose neighborhoods this development is meant to serve — Globeville, Elyria, and Swansea.
The graduation ceremony was part of that event deliberately. The young men who completed the Apprenticeship Ready Program are exactly who the National Western Center's community workforce commitments are supposed to produce: local residents, trained and credentialed, ready to step into careers in the construction trades through the very development happening in their own backyard.
Each graduate was honored individually before joining a group cheer — a small moment that carried the weight of everything that got them there.
A Program Built to Open Doors
The Apprenticeship Ready Program is a free workforce training initiative run by UCAN in partnership with the National Western Center and Payan Realty (DBE). It was designed from the beginning to remove the barriers that have historically kept young people from North Denver out of the trades: no entrance exam to get started, no cost to participate, and no prior experience required.
Students log 40 hours in the Environmental Innovation Academic Learning Lab at 5115 Race Court on the NWC campus. The program covers foundational trades skills alongside job readiness coaching, résumé support, and industry-recognized certifications — including the OSHA 10 card that every graduate now carries.
What the certifications represent is straightforward. OSHA 10 is a credential that employers in construction and the trades look for when hiring. The graduates from this latest class have it. They are ready.
Part of Something Bigger
Speakers at the Grand Opening were direct about what the National Western Center is trying to accomplish. For over 100 years, the neighborhoods surrounding the NWC have been overlooked. The commitments made now — a 200-unit hotel, an equestrian center, a plan for 60 acres of city-owned land shaped with direct community input — are an attempt to change that.
A core part of those commitments is workforce: 15% of jobs created through NWC development will come directly from the local community. The Apprenticeship Ready Program is one of the most concrete ways that promise gets kept.
What Comes Next
The latest class is out the door and into the trades. UCAN and its partners are now developing additional pathways — including a High School Medical Internship Program in collaboration with Clinica Tepeyac and Colorado Charter High School — so that the pipeline for North Denver students grows in multiple directions, not just one.
The Apprenticeship Ready Program is currently accepting participants for the 2026–2027 school year. It is free, open to high school seniors and young adults entering the workforce, and requires no prior experience. If you or someone you know is ready, visit the Youth Workforce Development page to apply.