Climb Wyoming Works

Anna was unemployed when she started Climb all those years ago, yet even through a fog of self-doubt, she sensed that she had potential. “I had always enjoyed math and been good at it, but it had been so long since I’d used any of those skills,” Anna recalls.

During training, Anna excelled at QuickBooks and began to see doors opening in her future. Her job placement was with Northern Title, where she oversaw land titles. She has since moved on to become a Mortgage Loan Originator and Assistant Vice President at First Bank of Wyoming.

Recently, Anna returned to Climb to serve as a mock interviewer and help moms practice for their upcoming job interviews. “It was so cool to think, ‘Wow, I was here,’” says Anna. “I remember being so terrified, and it made me realize how far I’ve come.”

At the bank, Anna also serves as a mentor to other women. “I try to help the women I work with speak up. I say, ‘If you have a concern, bring it forward! And it’s even better if you can bring a solution with it.’ As women, we must stand up for ourselves and remember how much we bring to the workplace.”

“I’m very happy with who I am today,” Anna says. “I know what I want out of life and am not afraid to ask for it.”

“I try to help the women I work with speak up. I say, ‘If you have a concern, bring it forward! And it’s even better if you can bring a solution with it.’”

Climb designed this first-of-its-kind training to set women up for in-demand, high-paying careers in fields like Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC), electrical, dispatch, and more. During training, participants learned to employ advanced tools used in robotics, manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, and heating and cooling systems.

“Being in an all-women learning environment helped build my confidence, especially going into a non-traditional field of work,” Heather says. “It was empowering for me to be in a room with my group all day. You learn a lot of important lessons about life.” Climb’s group structure worked well for Heather: “Climb’s staff and my group had a lot to offer that built me up.”

Today, Heather is a Fabrication Insulator at Advanced Comfort Solutions, a family-owned business in Cheyenne. She builds parts for HVAC systems like ventilation ducts, and works alongside Tina, one of her Climb classmates. Both women are working toward their journeyman’s license in HVAC trades.

“Climb’s staff and my group
had a lot to offer that built me up.”

“I want to show my children that just because you get in a rut, it doesn’t mean you can’t move forward,” Heather says. “Just because something’s hard doesn’t mean it will always be hard.”

Ella’s mom, Heidi, was at the Wyoming Women’s Center in Lusk when she reached out to Climb seeking employment support after four years of incarceration. “I needed help learning how to live again,” says Heidi. “And how to get in the groove of being a mom again.”

Ella wrote a letter to the parole board advocating for her mom. “I love my mom so much, and I need to have her in my life,” Ella wrote. “She’s put in a lot of effort, and I believe she deserves a second chance.”

Heidi worked hard to be ready to start Climb soon after she was released from prison and began Climb’s Intro to Medical Careers training in Laramie in 2024. She had worked at a hospital in her previous life but needed support getting back into the healthcare industry.

Climb guided Heidi in strategizing what kind of medical job would leverage her strong work ethic, desire to help people, and past work experience. When Climb introduced Heidi to an opportunity at Hospice of Laramie, she knew it was the perfect match.

“It’s an honor to help patients and families get through one of the hardest times of their lives,” says Heidi, who helps run Hospice’s day-to-day operations and also helps with patient care. “You develop a deep connection with people in their last days.”

“When you’re starting from absolutely nothing, a lot of people don’t think you can rise above that, but Climb helped me realize that the hard places I’ve been also make me valuable.”

71 Construction handles underground utilities, industrial construction, concrete paving, hazardous waste removal, and more. The business has two Climb graduates on their crew: Hannah and Ashley fill important jobs in an industry that faces serious labor shortages. Both women haul materials to job sites, including a major project to replace five bridges on Interstate 25 that goes through Casper.

“Driving trucks turns out to be something I enjoy immensely,” says Hannah, who especially likes asphalt paving. “I don’t drag my feet. I love going to work.”

“As older workers in this industry retire, we’re not seeing a younger workforce step in to fill that void,” says Ian, who appreciates that Climb’s intensive training pairs moms with experts who often have decades of experience to pass along.

“Artificial Intelligence can’t do these jobs, that’s for sure,” says Ian. “Ashley and Hannah are real go-getters. The training and tools Climb has provided them with, as well as the ongoing support, are a huge benefit to us as an employer. They are literally building a stronger community.”

Ashley behind the wheel at 71 Construction, where she hauls materials for major projects like the replacement of bridges on Interstate 25.

“As older workers in this industry retire, we’re not seeing a younger workforce step in to fill that void.”

Jessica was in a dark place when she began Climb’s Certified Medical Assistant training in Gillette last year. Her husband had recently passed away, and she was suddenly on her own raising two kids, ages two and five.

“My first day at Climb,” Jessica recalls, “we went around the room and had to introduce ourselves. It was terrifying doing that with people I didn’t know!”

With an interest in community health and education, Jessica started her new career path at Youth Emergency Services in Gillette and now helps children with developmental disabilities at Campbell County Children’s Developmental Services.

“A year and a half ago, I would never have done anything out of my comfort zone,” Jessica says. “I wouldn’t go to the store alone or take the kids to the park alone. I was really isolating my family. Now we walk to school and the park together all the time. I recently bought a three-bedroom house. Climb was absolutely life-changing.”

“Now we walk to school and the park together all the time. I recently bought a three-bedroom house. Climb was absolutely life-changing.”