National Center for Craftsmanship

Background Statement

The mission of NCC was conceived in 2005 by a dedicated group of technical educators and industry professionals at Colorado State University. Our research and experience identified national trends and their causes that have resulted in critical shortages of skilled craftspeople across the country. Combined with the dismantling of our public school vocational education programs and subsequent loss of employment opportunities for our non-college bound youth, a significant need for substantive career development education and training was identified. In hopes of addressing these issues NCC was formed and designated a 501c3 educational non-profit in the Fall of 2006 NCC.

In the Spring of 2008 we launched our flagship DeConstruct training program, bringing together community youth, educators, industry professionals, school districts, and other non-profits. With the goal of providing students with real-world training and project experience to facilitate the school-to-work transition, we systematically deconstructed and salvaged four residential homes in Fort Collins, Colorado. Since its inception, NCC has successfully completed 43 DeConstruct projects, trained more than one thousand student volunteers, accrued over 30,000 training hours, diverted more than 3000 tons of materials away from local landfills and back into the community, and provided more than $2 million in tax credits and incentives to our donors and stakeholders.

In 2009 NCC developed our ReConstruct Program, bringing together local craftspeople with youth and young adults for intensive training in the construction trades. This has resulted in significant employment skills and job placements for our students.

In 2010 NCC created our Pine Ridge Project, bringing our mission of workforce and economic development to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

In 2012 NCC was designated an Enterprise Zone Contribution Project by the State of Colorado, allowing us to offer additional tax credits to donors contributing to our workforce development mission.

In 2015 NCC formally launched our Non-Profit Development Program. Utilizing fiscal sponsorships and strategic collaborations, NCC helps create new non-profits and grow small businesses in our communities.

NCC continues to engage with students, businesses, local school districts and governments, as well as other non-profits and community stakeholders to promote workforce development strategies in support of school-to-work, work-to-career, and community & economic development outcomes.