Homegrown Pathways holds a contract with Elevate Quantum — America's quantum technology hub, operating across Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming — to design a Rural Pathways Strategy connecting rural students and job seekers to careers in quantum and quantum-adjacent industries.
Rural Pathways for the Quantum Economy
About Elevate Quantum
Elevate Quantum is the nation's first federally funded quantum tech hub, backed by the U.S. Economic Development Administration. With 120+ partners spanning national labs, universities, and industry leaders, Elevate Quantum is working toward an ambitious 10-year vision: 50 new quantum startups, 10,000 high-quality jobs, and 30,000 workers across the region with quantum skills. Colorado's quantum economy already employs 3,600 people — and it's growing.
Rural communities are rarely the first to benefit from emerging technology sectors. Homegrown Pathways is working to change that. Through this contract, we are developing deployment-ready career pathway toolkits for two large rural regions: the Highway 50-550 Corridor from Grand Junction to Durango, and the Southern I-25 Corridor from Pueblo and Trinidad, Colorado through Northern New Mexico.
The toolkits will identify specific quantum and quantum-adjacent occupations, training programs, credentials, and work-based learning opportunities accessible to rural learners and job seekers — and will be deployed through the workforce centers, school districts, and community colleges that rural communities already trust. We are also forming and leading a Rural Emerging and Advanced Tech Steering Committee, bringing together K-12, postsecondary, workforce, and industry partners to guide the work and ensure it reflects real regional needs.
The pilot launches in 2026–27, with an estimated 50 trained navigators connecting 500+ rural learners and job seekers to quantum and advanced industry pathways in the first year of deployment.