Climb Hire: Tech Career Training in Fort Collins
Tech training for Fort Collins residents
Climb Hire provides training that helps Fort Collins residents move into tech careers without taking on debt or quitting their day job. Our remote IT Support program is open to low-income job seekers across the state of Colorado.
Free tuition for all students
You won't pay anything to train with Climb Hire. Government funding and nonprofit grants cover the full cost of the program. This includes the certification exam fees for credentials like CompTIA A+ and Google IT Support Professional.
Ongoing career support
A dedicated career advisor works with you through the job search, helps you build the soft skills employers look for, and gets you ready for interviews. More than 80% of our graduates land tech roles within a year of finishing.
It took me years to find confidence, a community, and a tribe to help unlock my potential. Having a mentor, Climb Hire, and peers propelled me forward. The positive energy changed my life. The program allowed me to focus, practice, and refine my emotional intelligence and technical skill sets. Those skills landed me a role at Better.com. I️ couldn’t be more excited about this new career.
IT Support program
Fort Collins residents can break into tech through our hands-on, six-month IT Support program. Throughout the program, you’ll prepare for CompTIA A+ certification, the credential most IT employers expect entry-level hires to hold. We cover the cost of both A+ exams (1101 and 1102), saving you around $500 in fees.
Over the six months, you’ll:
- Troubleshoot hardware, software, and network security problems
- Work with operating systems, networking, cloud computing, and more
- Build real-world skills through hands-on training and projects
- Earn the Google IT Support Professional Certificate as an optional additional credential
Classes are live and online, taught by experts in the IT industry. Expect to dedicate around 20 hours a week to the program, between nine hours of class time and 11 hours of independent work.
Coaching and job placement
You’ll also get the career support you need to land well-paid work after you graduate:
- Six months of one-on-one coaching with your own dedicated career advisor
- Hands-on help building your resume, LinkedIn profile, and elevator pitch
- Mock interviews with specific feedback on what to sharpen
- A full year of LinkedIn Premium membership to help with networking and leads
- Access to our Alumni Job Portal, with curated job listings, application tracking, and industry contacts
Climb Hire graduates have gone on to entry-level IT roles at companies like Google, Discord, and IBM.
Additional support
Balancing your studies with work and family responsibilities can be a real challenge. Climb Hire provides extra support services so everyday obstacles don’t stand in the way of your training.
Through our partnership with SNAP, we help students address food insecurity, the barrier our Climbers report most often. We’re also expanding our services to include childcare resources, learning assessment tools, and internet access support.
We’ll share more as these resources become available.
Who can apply
To enroll with Climb Hire, you need to:
- Live in Colorado (or California)
- Be 24 to 40 years old
- Earn $30k a year or less
- Be authorized to work in the US
- Be able to commit 20 hours a week for six months
- Have a computer with a webcam and microphone
Meet our climbers
Elysia Brewster
Former: Substitute Teacher
Current: Loan Consultant Associate
“I always felt that my lack of higher education would prohibit me from getting a good job. At times I was even uncomfortable engaging with educated white people. I’ve worked since I was 15 years old, barely making ends meet. Through Climb Hire I was able to learn skills that would help me secure and land a great job. Thankfully, I am able to provide for my children and pave the way.”
Chris Randolph
Former: Customer Service
Current: Loan Processing Expert
"I️ started in the workforce at 18 years old but always doubted that I would be able to obtain a career I loved without a college education. Climb Hire has given me the confidence l needed to get my foot in the door at organizations that would have otherwise been out of reach. I'm excited to be starting a new journey with Better and look forward to staying connected with the Climb Hire community.”
Fiona Wen
Former: Stay-at-home Parent
Current: Loan Consultant Associate
“The reason I joined Climb Hire is because I wanted to be a financially independent woman. I wanted to prove to my family that I am worth more than being a stay home mom. It was a long journey of job hunting. I'm beyond grateful for my new role at Better.”
Karine Durand
Former: Family Assistant
Current: Marketing Associate
“Climb Hire really helped me discover the tools and habits to make my life more organized and efficient which translated really well to a corporate environment. In my new role as a Marketing Associate at BetterUp, I’ve been using a lot of the soft-skills concepts we learned, such as effectively communicating during group projects by establishing clear expectations and checking in with my project mates.”
Austin Sanchez
Former: Retail Sales
Current: Software Engineering Apprentice
"I lost my vision after eleven years of being able to see and it changed the way I make decisions. It wasn’t until I took the risk of joining the Climb Hire that I discovered the strength I gained from living with a disability. With all of these new skills I gained at Climb Hire, I was able to land a position with IBM as a Software Engineering Apprentice.”
Miguel Ruiz
Former: Food Worker
Current: Software Engineering Apprentice
"I️ worked as a cook in a Silicon Valley company's cafeteria for nearly six years. I felt stuck. Despite the adversities of having no formal education and English being my second language, I knew there was more in me. My Climb Hire community kept me strong and focused on my goal. I landed my first job in tech and am a Software Engineering Apprentice at Bluewolf, an IBM Company. I am so proud to be a Climber and an IBMer!”
Our Colorado address
1942 Broadway Street, STE 314C
Boulder, CO 80302
Boulder, CO 80302
Other tech training options near Fort Collins
If Climb Hire isn't the right match, here are other places to get tech career training in the Fort Collins area:
Based in Fort Collins since 2006, DWC offers live, instructor-led certificate programs in data analytics, digital marketing, project management, UX design, and graphic design. Classes run online in small cohorts, with career coaching and WIOA funding support for eligible Larimer County students.
The ASCEND Engine Career Training Program, run by Fort Collins–based Innosphere, prepares you for a tech career through technical coursework, paid internships, and apprenticeships. It connects students to employers across Colorado and Wyoming, with mentorship and career coaching included.
Through CDLE's job seeker training, eligible Coloradans can train in approved IT and tech fields at no cost via WIOA programs and apprenticeships. Fort Collins residents apply through their local workforce center, Larimer County Economic & Workforce Development.
Certstaffix runs live online, self-paced, and on-site private group IT classes available to Fort Collins residents. Tracks span Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA, and cybersecurity, covering both foundational skills and certification prep. Most instructor-led training courses run five days or less.
Coloradans earning under $35k a year can enroll in Merit America's remote tech training. Students pay nothing upfront. Programs in IT support, data analytics, and cybersecurity run 12 to 24 weeks on a flexible schedule, with career coaching and job placement included.
Tech training at Fort Collins–area colleges and universities
FRCC offers an AAS in Computer Information Systems, plus one-semester certificates in specific tech fields like database and applications. Classes can be taken online or in person. Larimer County residents may qualify for LCEWD scholarship funding to help cover certificate program costs.
IBMC's Computer Systems Technician program runs evenings at its Fort Collins campus over about 18 months. The 91-credit program preps you for seven CompTIA exams, from IT Fundamentals and A+ through Security+ and Cloud+, leading to in-demand helpdesk and junior network administrator roles.
CSU Professional Education runs a live online cybersecurity bootcamp that covers penetration testing, cloud security, and threat intelligence. You'll prep for CompTIA Security+ with a free exam voucher and get 1:1 career coaching after you graduate. Courses are available full-time or part-time.
With campuses in nearby Loveland and Windsor, Aims offers a Computer Information Systems associate degree built around eight stackable certificates, plus a newer cloud systems administration certificate. It also runs short, self-paced online CompTIA A+, Network+, and Security+ training.
Run by the Colorado Community College System, Colorado Skills Institute is open to all Colorado residents. You can take free online courses toward two certifications: CompTIA A+ or Google IT Professional Certificate. Programs are self-paced, and credits transfer toward a degree at five CCCS colleges.