Making Space launches aerospace workforce program for Disabled talent

Making Space has launched Ascend Aerospace, a new fellowship track aimed at training 100 Disabled professionals for Colorado’s aerospace sector before expanding to California. The program pairs accessible career preparation with employer readiness as aerospace employers compete for workers and disability employment remains far below the national average.

Why it matters: - Colorado’s aerospace workforce is growing, but the sector is competing harder for talent as other states court companies and workers. - The program targets a large underused labor pool at a time when Disabled workers remain far less likely to be employed than non-disabled workers. - Employers get a pipeline built around both candidate preparation and workplace readiness, which could make hiring and retention easier.

What happened: - Making Space launched Ascend Aerospace, a new track of its Ascend Fellowship for Disabled professionals. - Applications opened Oct. 5, 2026, for the first cohort. - The program will begin in Colorado and then expand to California. - Ascend Aerospace will train 100 Disabled professionals. - The program is funded by Ability Central with additional philanthropic support. - Applications are available through the fellowship application page.

The details: - Fellows will receive accessible, industry-aligned training tied to aerospace careers. - The program also prepares hiring managers and recruiters to support Disabled talent. - Support includes paid apprenticeships and internships that help participants translate existing experience into aerospace jobs. - Fellows get free, permanent access to Making Space resources. - Those resources include accessible, job-aligned courses taught by Disabled professionals. - Safe-to-Earn, an AI-powered benefits navigation tool, shows how earnings interact with SSI, SSDI, Medicaid and ABLE accounts. - Fellows also get direct access to employers through open roles, mentorship and interviews. - The program includes a national peer community of Disabled professionals. - An advisory group of aerospace leaders, rocket scientists, engineers, Disabled technologists, veterans and workforce experts guides the program. - Making Space says its Ascend Fellowship has already supported more than 250 Disabled professionals. - In a GitLab Foundation-funded cohort of 100 fellows, 97% completed the curriculum and 75% reached an employment outcome. - The cohort’s aggregate projected lifetime earnings were $111 million, with a benefit-to-cost ratio of 123-to-1. - Colorado’s aerospace workforce grew 14.4% between 2020 and 2025, according to the Colorado Chamber Foundation. - The state now has more than 61,000 aerospace jobs paying nearly twice the statewide average. - The Colorado Chamber Foundation has said workforce development is central to the state’s competitiveness. - In 2025, 22.8% of Disabled people were employed, compared with 65.2% of non-disabled people, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. - Employer partners can gain a pre-qualified talent pipeline, Disabled-led manager and recruiter training, hiring-process review, retention pathways, reporting and early access to Fellows. - Employers interested in joining can contact Taylor Rust at partnerships@making-space.com. - Making Space says it supports a network of more than 50,000 Disabled people and has trained more than 200,000 employees at companies including Red Bull, Salesforce and Netflix.

Between the lines: - The launch ties a disability employment initiative to a sector with real hiring pressure, which could make the program more attractive to employers than a purely social-impact effort. - The inclusion of benefits navigation addresses a common reason Disabled workers avoid higher-paying jobs: fear of losing essential supports. - By training employers at the same time as candidates, Making Space is betting that hiring barriers are as much about workplace systems as they are about talent supply. - A Colorado first rollout suggests the program is being positioned around a state-level industry cluster before broader expansion.

What’s next: - Making Space will recruit the first 100 fellows for the Colorado launch. - The organization plans to expand the program into California after the initial rollout. - Employer partners can join now to help define role requirements and access fellows before open recruitment.

The bottom line: - Ascend Aerospace is designed to do more than train Disabled workers; it aims to change how aerospace employers recruit, hire and retain them.