Blog Post

Deayshia stands at the threshold of a new chapter in her life. With her high school graduation from Colorado High School Charter just in sight, she is faced with a vast, open sea of career opportunities and choices about her future. She lives at home with her mother, and as she reflected on her journey so far and the opportunities that lie ahead, she began feeling some uncertainty about what comes next.

More than 1,300 passionate and dedicated workforce leaders gathered in Washington, D.C., March 23 - 26 for four full days of knowledge sharing, connecting, and learning at the 2024 National Association Workforce Boards (NAWB) Forum—the nation’s largest annual workforce development gathering and conference.

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the State of Colorado received $23.75 million dollars to fund programs that give residents the opportunity to pursue vocational and career readiness training to pave the way for Coloradans to access better, higher-paying jobs and a brighter economy across the state. 

We are in a new economy that competes on talent, yet the talent financing and development systems we rely on were built for a different era and economy. This has left many Coloradans unable to access the training and education that lead to in-demand jobs, and many Colorado employers struggling to find talent.

The CWDC is offering a series of virtual workshops on Talent Finance tools—which use public-private partnerships and align incentives so that more Coloradans can access workforce training—that address inequities in Colorado’s labor market.