DENVER (KDVR) — First lady Dr. Jill Biden was in Colorado Monday. Before her flight was diverted, the first lady stopped by the state Capitol as part of the Biden administration’s “Investing in America” tour, touting how federal dollars from spending plans passed in Congress are being used in communities throughout the nation.

The major spending plans are set to open the door for major projects in the state, but you need people working for the projects to become a reality. The first lady praised Colorado for making progress in that area.

“You’ve been investing in these pathways for years,” Biden told a group of bipartisan lawmakers and education leaders Monday.

Job opportunities, even without a college degree

The first lady commended state leaders at the legislature and in education on the state’s efforts to bolster its workforce, saying more jobs are set to open thanks to bills passed in Congress and signed by the president, like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the American Rescue Plan Act.

“Joe (Biden) and his administration are creating millions of jobs in infrastructure, clean energy, and manufacturing. These positions pay well and many of them require associate degrees, certificates, registered apprenticeships, or other hands-on instruction. Not four years of college,” said the first lady, who is also an educator at a community college.

The bipartisan group of state lawmakers discussed efforts at the state Capitol designed to help more people get to work faster.

“We are now working with the legislature through the budget process to expand the zero-cost degrees to a number of other fields. These are areas like construction, law enforcement, fire management, which is so critical in our state. So we want to really up the bar on opening the doors of opportunity to more people as well as this innovative program for more flexible scholarship money for graduating seniors,” said Colorado Gov. Jared Polis.

Biden commended lawmakers on their bipartisan work in this area and encouraged other leaders around the nation to mirror Colorado’s work.