The CWDC aims to share innovative examples and promising practices from across the Colorado talent development network so that other communities and partners may leverage and scale as fits with their own situation. Thank you to the individuals and organizations who have shared their insights and experience through the case studies listed below:
- Local Workforce Area Best Practices
- Upskilling Case Studies
- Workforce Innovation Case Studies
- WBL Incubator Case Studies
- Remote Work Case Studies
- Sector Partnership Case Studies
Local Workforce Area Best Practices
In November 2020, Colorado’s Office of the State Auditor (OSA) completed a performance audit of the WIOA Title I program administered by CDLE grantees. OSA recommended CDLE to identify and share best practices from local areas that achieve the best outcomes. Learn more in the Training Placement and Outcomes in Colorado Workforce Areas evaluation.
In response to the OSA recommendation, and to better support our workforce partners in learning about and implementing best practices across the state, we are sharing the below best practices from Colorado’s local workforce areas.
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Adams County
- Best Practice - Brighton Economic Development Corporation
- Best Practice - Independent Electrical Contractors Rocky Mountain
Arapahoe/Douglas County
Boulder County
City & County of Denver
- Best Practice - Construction Career Pilot
- Best Practice - Certified Youth Employment
- Best Practice - New Americans ECE Pathway
- Best Practice - Tech Loaner Program
Colorado Rural Workforce Consortium
Larimer County
Mesa County
Pikes Peak
Tri-County
Weld County
Upskilling
Through the Lives Empowered initiative, the CWDC is working to develop a scalable, industry-led model for upskilling the frontline workforce across Colorado. Diverse organizations and employers implement upskilling (i.e. the process of teaching workers new skills) to improve employee retention, facilitate career advancement, attract new talent, and increase customer satisfaction. The below case studies highlight the upskilling approaches of various organizations across the state.
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Lutheran Family Services
Metro Denver Retail Partnership
Pikes Peak Retail and Hospitality Sector Partnership
Pueblo Corporate College
Spanish Peaks Retail & Tourism Partnership
Vail Valley Partnership
Business Solutions for Training and Supporting Frontline Employees
Workforce Innovation
In 2018, the CWDC released $350,000 in grants to Colorado’s local workforce areas to scale a promising practice or test a new model of service delivery that maximizes efficiency in serving customers. Three local workforce areas received Workforce Innovation grants -- Boulder County, Tri-County, and Larimer County. The below case studies highlight the innovative practices developed within each of these local workforce areas to help others replicate the successful practices.
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Work-based Learning Incubator Case Studies
The Work-based Learning Incubator Community of Practice, hosted by the CWDC and Colorado Department of Education, took place from January through June of 2021. Throughout this experience, six participating schools and districts across Colorado used human-centered design to develop and design a work-based learning program to launch in the 2021-22 school year. The summaries of work linked below detail the processes and lessons learned of three participating communities as they developed their work-based learning programs. Note: The work completed by Weld RE-3J began prior to their participation in the WBL Incubator.
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The Academy of Charter Schools
Centennial School District R-1
Weld County School District RE-3J
Remote Work
The CWDC and CDLE Office of the Future of Work partnered with three businesses to develop case studies exploring the transition to remote work for a small, medium, and large business. The case studies aim to raise awareness about remote work, share promising practices that support a smooth adoption of remote work, and promote the location-neutral incentive made available by OEDIT. Each case study highlights key insights the company learned during their transition and links to tools and resources the employer leveraged.
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Small employer - A-Train Marketing
Medium employer - Pax8
Large employer - Colorado Department of Labor & Employment
Sector Partnerships
Sector partnerships are partnerships of business leaders, from the same industry and in a shared labor market region, who work with education, workforce development, economic development, and community organizations to address the workforce and other competitiveness needs of their industry. The case studies below highlight best practices from Colorado sector partnerships.
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