Pub. 10 2020-2021 Issue 4

O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S — H E L P I N G C O L O R A D A N S R E A L I Z E D R E A M S November • December 2020 5 A brief from the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. shows more than 100,000 employees at nearly 15,000 companies inmetro Denver’s financial-services industry. Some 40,000 of those jobs are in banking and finance — almost enough people to fill every Coors Field seat. The same report revealed that machines aren’t replacing humans — financial-services jobs grew by 7.5% nationally between 2012 and 2017 and more than 10% in metro Denver in the same period. But technology is displacing entry-level jobs in favor of more advanced positions, says Andrea Stiles Pullas, director of strategic initiatives at Mi Casa Resource Center. This community organization promotes economic mobility through job training and other resources. “This industry is growing jobs that require a college degree by 57% in the next few years, while the jobs that don’t require a degree are shrinking,” Stiles Pullas said. Enter the Community College of Aurora and MSU Denver. Together with Mi Casa, the schools have crafted new education tracks that include job training, certificates and a specialized degree for those who want to join or move up in the financial sector. “We’re looking for ways to help job-seekers —both students and incumbent workers already in the industry — to earn credentials in a modular fashion, at their own pace so that they can balance work and life and study in amoremanageable way,” Stiles Pullas said. Illuminating the path Nationally, four of every five jobs lost during the 2007-09 recession required a high school diploma or less, according to the Lumina Foundation, and those have been replaced by jobs requiring more education. Only about 40% of American adults have postsecondary credentials, and Lumina’s goal is for 60% of adults to have a postsecondary certificate, degree or other credentials by 2025. That’s why Lumina invested a $450,000 grant into the partnership among Mi Casa, CCA and MSU Denver to build a first-of-its-kind pathway for adult learners in the financial services industry. The credential pathway developed by MSU Denver, Mi Casa Resource Center and the Community College of Aurora provides multiple places to start or finish education in banking for community members, traditional students or current banking employees. Illustration by Scott Surine continued on the next page