The Technical College of the Rockies is quietly reshaping how people on the Western Slope prepare for work — and how they stay rooted in their communities.
In a conversation on Local Motion, Executive Director Randal Palmer explains that the college doesn’t offer traditional degrees. Instead, it focuses on short-term, industry-recognized credentials designed around what local employers actually need. Programs range from allied health fields like CNA training, medical assisting, surgical technology, and diagnostic medical sonography, to automotive, cosmetology, welding, law academy training, and cyber technology.
Many of these programs can be completed in six months to two years. Palmer says students graduate debt-free and ready to step directly into jobs that are already in demand across the region.
Enrollment at the college has grown rapidly, pushing the school to expand its schedule to mornings, evenings, and weekends. Palmer emphasizes that students come from across the Western Slope — and even out of state — drawn by programs that lead to stable, well-paying work.
The college serves high school juniors and seniors, adults changing careers, and people looking to skill up quickly. Palmer also addresses concerns about artificial intelligence, arguing that hands-on, service-based jobs are unlikely to be replaced — and that technology can strengthen training rather than threaten it.
For Palmer, the mission is simple: help skilled people stay, work, and build a future right here.
