Routt County Regional Building Department recently announced a new Trade Scholarship Program Fund.

The Building Department will offer the Trade Scholarship Program Fund through Yampa Valley Community Foundation. The Building Department was approved to use $20,000 to open the scholarship fund. YFCF will manage the funds and will be responsible for receiving and awarding applications.

The Trade Scholarship program will be targeting both high school students and adults who reside in Routt or Moffat County. The goal is provide support to individuals looking at a new a career within the trade industries. The Trade Scholarship applications will be released at the beginning of February 2025 by YVCF the same time college scholarship applications are released.

“Our Department has been all ears the last year-and-a-half. We consistently heard from property owners and contractors that we have serious shortage of trade workers throughout the county. The demand for jobs is there, but we don’t have adequate supply of trained professionals to fill the demand,” said Todd Carr, Routt County Regional Building Official. “We want to support students looking for an alternative to a four-year college, or adults navigating a career change. And we want to help motivate them to be successful locally.” 

The Building Department will host a Contractor Open House Event to discuss the new Trade Scholarship Program on Nov. 6, at 5 p.m. at Old Town Pub located at 600 Lincoln Avenue in downtown Steamboat Springs.

The event is open to all contractors, trade contractors, design professionals and others who work within the trades who would like to learn more about the new Trade Scholarship Program.