Workforce Initiatives

Workforce challenges have consistently ranked among the top two issues for employers in Colorado Chamber business surveys. We want our workforce to be among the top in the nation, equipped with the skills needed to take on the jobs of the future. As a key focus area of Vision 2033, a major initiative of the Chamber Foundation is to address our skills gaps and improve the talent pipeline to create opportunities for Coloradans.

In October 2023, the Colorado Chamber announced the creation of the Education to Employment Alliance, a strategic partnership with business and education groups representing more than 2,000 employers across the state. The alliance released a 2023 report highlighting the critical workforce challenges faced by Colorado employers, from skills gaps and mismatches to the role of higher education in preparing students.

Using the report as a guide, the Colorado Chamber helped to pass a law requiring the state to establish seven regional talent development plans across Colorado in 2025, a key initiative of the Alliance. The Chamber Foundation has worked closely with the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade to plan the summits where these meetings are occurring.

The seven regional summits are currently ongoing, bringing employers and educators to the same table to identify talent gaps. They will partner on the creation of new career pathways in which certain sectors will work with specified educational institutions on curricula that will better prepare students for needed jobs.

The Chamber continues to work with its partners in the Education to Employment Alliance to identify long-term fixes to the workforce development system to put employers at the top of the chain in identifying skills they need taught in K-12 and higher education. It recently launched with those partners a higher education funding reform effort that will ensure public resources go to schools and workforce training providers who have proven success in launching graduates into sustainably-paying careers.

Colorado Regional Talent Summits

Education to Employment Alliance