Sept. 30, 2020 - The final week of Workforce Development Month in Colorado is focused on the industries especially impacted by the pandemic, including retail, hospitality, tourism, and food and beverage services. These industries were heavily affected by layoffs at the onset of COVID-19, and as a result, the need for programs and resources to upskill and reskill the frontline workforce is more important than ever.
The CWDC’s recent Reenvisioning Retail conference addressed many of these issues by bringing together leaders from those impacted industries with public partners to identify shared solutions for economic recovery. Attendees engaged in discussion about equitable strategies for economic recovery and identified opportunities for upskilling, reskilling, and redeploying displaced workers. Materials and recordings from the event are all available on the event website.
The Lives Empowered website also provides access to free resources to upskill frontline workers and connect with wrap-around supports, including:
- The Lives Empowered Training Academy - Strengthen essential skills, such as customer service, and receive an industry recognized credential to help you move up in your career.
- Enrich - Financial education and tools to make money decisions to ease the financial stress of workers.
- WorkLife Partnership - Support services to help your employees conquer their personal challenges so they can feel supported, productive, and engaged while at work.
- Retail Career Pathways - Explore career pathways in retail, hospitality, and food & beverage to discover the education and skills required to pursue a career in the industry.
Tap into these free resources to immediately start upskilling efforts in your community, or reach out to lives_empowered@state.co.us to get started.
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.