The RK Foundation’s Education pillar is strategically focused on two initiatives – workforce development in skilled trades and construction management education, and bringing more women into the trades.  Our goal is to support the next generation of employees in the construction industry, while at the same time addressing the disparity in the overall demographics of the construction workforce.  

Th RK Foundation is pleased to announce the establishment of a scholarship for Construction Project Management (CPM) majors in the Department of Engineering and Engineering Technology at Metropolitan State University, Denver.  The CPM major is the fastest growing major at the institution and this is the first named scholarship for the department.  Starting in 2024, the first RK Scholars will be awarded and we look forward to the impact the scholarship will make on the students and the construction industry in Colorado.

In addition, the RK Foundation continues to support several local non-profit organizations that are making a measurable impact in workforce development by providing career pathways and pre-apprenticeship programs in the construction industry.  As the gap in skilled trade workers continues to widen, the Foundation continues to support non-profits that focus on helping more people find a career in the trades.  In the past couple of years, the Foundation has supported organizations including The Master’s Apprentice, CrossPurpose and TACT – Teaching the Autism Community Trades.  Additionally, we continue or long-standing support for high school vocational education programs and community college programs 

Nationally, just one in 10 workers are female in the construction industry.  This is equivalent to less than 3% of trades people that are women, 10% being office-based employees.  The RK Foundation is working to address this inequality by funding initiatives that engage women in construction.  We are pleased to sponsor the Emily Griffith Foundation’s Annual Celebration of Women in Trades event and Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver’s Women Build Week programs.  Additionally, since 2020 the Foundation has sponsored and participated in the Hoya Foundation’s Transportation & Construction Girl Day, which brings girls in elementary through high school from all over the state to learn about careers they may not have ever considered.