Narrative: II. a. 2. B.

Strengths

Colorado’s workforce system has many strengths. Colorado has transformed its workforce system into a business and industry driven model. The services and activities to unemployed, underemployed, and businesses outlined above are designed with the intent to meet local and statewide industry demands. Through initiatives including sector partnerships, career pathway development, data analysis, system collaboration, and work and learn programing, the workforce system has fully embraced the key principles of WIOA. Colorado has aligned business services though the statewide business services team and maintained a customer-centric approach for both jobseekers and businesses.

The vital element to this success is the understanding that workforce development is truly a multi-faceted approach harnessing workforce, education, economic development, and business. Examples of statewide and local collaboration among partners exist throughout Colorado. Alignment of resources and locally-specific co-location of services have allowed Colorado to have a flexible and proactive approach to workforce development by being able to create programs from the bottom up. Throughout Colorado there are numerous examples of “home grown” best practices that are shared through the e-Colorado online portal. Examples include:

Board member and workforce partner staff engagement program where they participate in a half day immersion program at the workforce center to receive a firsthand understanding of the customer flow and services available;

Onsite child care facilities and family friendly resources areas where customers can concentrate on skill building and career enhancement while their children and dependents are in a safe and secure environment;

Partnerships with K-12 education to assist schools with career exploration and providing information to the next generation of the workforce, enabling them to make educated and informed career decisions based on data and workforce demand; and

Collaboration with local media outlets such as radio and print media to market services and disseminate other workforce information.

Another key strength of Colorado’s workforce development system is its alignment with the Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade (OEDIT). In 2011, the Colorado Blueprint was adopted as the state’s economic development plan. The Blueprint featured 6 core objectives:

1. Build a Business-Friendly Environment
2. Retain, Grow, and Recruit Companies
3. Increase Access to Capital
4. Create and Market a Stronger Colorado Brand
5. Educate and Train the Workforce of the Future
6. Cultivate Innovation and Technology

Core objective five is led by the CWDC and tasks the CWDC to:

• Align the efforts of education, workforce training, and economic development across state agencies and stakeholders;
• Create a demand-driven workforce system matching Colorado’s talent pool to upcoming needs of business;
• Prepare Colorado youth for full participation in the increasingly demanding and competitive economy; and
• Increase awareness of the availability of quality entrepreneurial training.

With this plan, CWDC and its partners have increased sector partnerships through their leadership. A Sector Steering Committee was established in 2011 and fostered the State’s sector partnership philosophy. In 2013, the State held its first Sector Summit followed by another in 2014. The summit and committee’s work supported 13 business-led sector partnerships statewide. A tool kit was created to assist local areas in the creation and retention of partnerships. Finally a step-by-step guide was released to outline how to create a data-driven and well-planned career pathway from inception through implementation.

Weaknesses

There is room for improvement in all things and the workforce system in Colorado is no different. Through stakeholder engagement, opportunities for enhancement were identified. These opportunities provide a platform for future initiatives and strategies. Opportunities include:

Data Sharing - Connecting Colorado allows access to some system partners but it does not function as the data management system across the board for all core, non-core, and system program partners. Additionally, not all labor market information, asset mapping, and other data is available statewide because of local area resources.

Public Awareness - The workforce system suffers from a lack of name recognition with both jobseekers and business. The lack of a unified language makes it difficult for the system to communicate its message to the public.

Professional Development - Workforce system staff need continuous professional development to be educated on current market conditions, as well as the latest initiatives and strategies. In addition, cross agency staff training would allow for increased knowledge of partner programs, creating a more holistic system.

Consistency in Service Delivery -There are opportunities to establish more consistency around elements of the service delivery strategies so customers can more easily navigate services within the system. Many examples of local best practices and successful strategic implementation exist, but there is a need to take these best practices and identify how, or if, they can be appropriately implemented in consistent ways throughout the state.