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DENVER – The Colorado Chamber of Commerce today released the following statement on House Bill 1317, introduced today, which would create a unified system of postsecondary talent development and a transition plan to restructure workforce development programs in state government:
“If we want to remain competitive as a state, Colorado’s workforce must be equipped with the right skills to fill the jobs employers need and adapt to our growing and diverse economy,” said Colorado Chamber President and CEO Loren Furman. “This requires breaking down barriers between higher education institutions and businesses, ensuring there are ongoing strategies in place to fill skills gaps and create opportunity for Coloradans. Streamlining how state government approaches the postsecondary education and training is a critical step forward to support our state’s overall business climate, further improve our talent pipeline, and secure Colorado’s future.”
Workforce development is a key focus area of the Colorado Chamber’s 10-year strategic action plan for the state. It’s consistently a top issue for Colorado employers when thinking about future growth and expansion. In 2024, the Chamber played a key role in the passage of HB24-1365, which created and funded regional workforce summits statewide. With the Chamber’s leadership and collaboration, the workforce summits concluded last summer with findings established in the 2025 Colorado Talent Pipeline Report.
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The Colorado Chamber of Commerce champions free enterprise, a healthy business environment and economic prosperity for all Coloradans. It is the only business association that works to improve the business climate for all sizes of business from a statewide, multi-industry perspective. What the Colorado Chamber accomplishes is good for all businesses, and that’s good for the state’s economy. It was created in 1965 based on the merger with the Colorado Manufacturers’ Association.