May 12, 2022 - The Colorado Workforce Development Council (CWDC) would like to thank everyone who attended the Lives Empowered close-out celebration on April 28.
The initiative, which brought retail businesses together to increase economic mobility for frontline workers across the state, had two goals:
- Invest in the development of retail sector partnerships throughout the state
- Upskill frontline hospitality, tourism, food and beverage services, and retail employees
Thanks to the work of many partners, the initiative met or surpassed all of its goals, an impressive feat especially considering the widespread disruptions caused by the pandemic. Together, we:
- Upskilled 1,252 workers
- Launched four retail sector partnerships, and
- Engaged 252 businesses
With your input, we also launched the Empowerment Score, which can help policymakers, sector partnerships, chambers of commerce, workforce development boards, businesses, and others make informed decisions and take action to promote economic mobility for workers. The tool measures indicators of economic mobility in an interactive map or chart format; users can sort data by county or region and explore how their area is faring using eight economic indicators.
As Colorado continues its economic recovery, strengthening the state’s talent development pipeline has become more important than ever. We encourage you to continue building on the lessons learned from this project as we collectively continue this critical work in Colorado.
For more information and related resources to advance economic mobility please visit the following links:
Upskilling Frontline Retail Employees: A Statewide Approach to Preparing Hospitality, Tourism, Food and Beverage Services, and Retail Employees for the Future of Work” is a state framework spotlighting Colorado’s model for upskilling frontline workers. The resource will be coming soon and will be made available on the CWDC website.
Lives Empowered brings together retail businesses interested in working collaboratively to increase economic mobility for frontline workers across Colorado and contribute to a strong economy. Lives Empowered is made possible by a $4.1 million grant from Walmart to the Colorado Workforce Development Council.