New Year Brings Increased Focus on Education and Employment in Colorado
???Happy new year and happy return to the Colorado legislative session! With the new year – we have new branding for our?Boundless Potential?newsletter, and we would love to know what you think!
???The last few weeks have been a whirlwind with new policies, initiatives and reports landing on our desks. From the?Return on Investment Report?from the?Colorado Department of Higher Education?to the?Talent Pipeline Report?from the?Colorado Workforce Development Council?to the state’s?1215 Task Force Recommendations, we have been busy reading and synthesizing all of the good work of colleagues…and that is just in Colorado! We share a few of our takeaways in this week’s Spotlight, below.
If you are playing catch up with the start of the legislative session, our colleagues at?Chalkbeat Colorado?hosted a legislative preview webinar on Monday and the recording is?here. And, I just finished browsing the?Colorado Sun’s?take?on the forthcoming legislative session and all the activity to watch in the legislature.?
?????In Washington, while Congress continues to debate funding resolutions, education and workforce advocates are trying to make sense of recent rulemaking and regulatory activities.?U.S. Department of Education (ED)?officials?released?six papers on issues they hope to resolve regarding higher education accountability and quality in the next three months (with a new?group?of negotiators). This latest round of rulemaking on higher education program integrity and the federal TRIO programs comes on the heels of rulemaking on student debt relief, which?concluded?at the end of 2023, and awaits further action by ED. On the federal workforce front, the?U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)?just?issued?over 700 pages of proposed rules on apprenticeships…our team is reading through those now!
?Still trying to make sense of negotiated rulemaking? Read my primer in?Forbes,?here.
???With all of the talk – whether in Colorado or across the nation – of postsecondary education and the workforce, the team at?Whiteboard Advisors?is excited to kick off the new year in conversation with?Lauren Weber?from?The Wall Street Journal?and a panel of national experts with a primer on?skills-based hiring. Join us next Wednesday, January 17 at 8am MT to discuss the education and labor market dynamics informing states’ policies around skills-based hiring and the elimination of degree requirements. Register?here.
???And finally, I am excited to kick off the?Immigrant Inclusion Summit?on January 31, hosted by?EnGen, a language upskilling platform, which has partnered with?Colorado’s Office of New Americans. As we know,?employers across Colorado are struggling?to recruit, retain and engage workers – and our immigrant community, which comprises 1 out of every 8 Coloradans – remains an untapped talent pool. If you are interested in ways to bring immigrant talent to your organization and learn more about EnGen, I would encourage you to join us for this great, solutions-focused event. Read more and register?here. I would love to see you!
With all my best for a great – and expectedly busy! – 2024,
Alison
Spotlight on Colorado Education and Workforce
???The activity at the intersection of postsecondary education and workforce development in Colorado has been significant over the last few weeks. A few key themes have emerged across a number of reports and conversations in the state and we have our eyes on the following topics as we start into the new year:
???Data, data, data. And, data systems. The?1215 Task Force Report, which made recommendations to the legislature and the Governor to better align our secondary, postsecondary and workforce development system calls for the development of a more robust statewide longitudinal data system – or SLDS. Such a?system?would give researchers, policymakers, and practitioners (among others) more concrete information about the pathways and alignment between education and work in the state. A coordinated and connected data system – with its privacy protections – would help key decision makers better understand the education and workforce journey of Coloradans. Right now, our state data systems don’t “talk” well with each other and it is difficult to pinpoint where our programs and initiatives are working, and where there is room for improvement to support all learners.
???Talent and learners. The terms “talent” and “learner” are appearing far more frequently than “students” in recent recommendations and reports across the state. The use of term “learner” allows new initiatives and policies to better include and embrace those across the age spectrum when constructing programs and eligibility requirements. This has a subtle but important impact. Recognizing that the state’s?demographics?are shifting and the state seeks to ensure every Coloradan has access to high-quality education and employment opportunities – use of this new and evolving nomenclature is perfectly timed. We are, in fact, all learners across our lifetime, seeking both formal and informal ways of expanding our knowledge, skills and experience. And ultimately, all of us, as Coloradans, are growing the state’s pool of talent.
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???Work-Based Learning. The emphasis on work-based learning experiences – from shadowing, internships,?apprenticeships?and aligning policies for work-study – have captured policymaker and practitioner attention. From the current work of the?K12 Accountability Task Force (with discussion of the postsecondary and workforce readiness metric) to the?1215 Task Force Report?(which is almost exclusively focused on the connection between education and work) and the new?Talent Pipeline report (which showcases the myriad of industries and high-need jobs available to Coloradans), Colorado can be the?first state?in the nation to both make sense of the education and employment connection, but also bring secondary, postsecondary education and the employer community to the table in a meaningful way. We cannot wait to see what the year holds.
What has captured your attention across our community this year — tell?us!
What We’re Reading (and Listening To…)
Early Childhood Education
K-12 Education
Postsecondary Education
Future of Work
Upcoming Events and Opportunities
Colleagues on the Move
?? Absolutely thrilling developments in #education and #workforce sectors! ?? Steve Jobs once said -Stay hungry, stay foolish- which seems fitting as we venture into new realms of work-based learning and skills-based hiring. Looking forward to the invaluable insights from Erica Price Burns and the panel. Congrats to Brandon Busteed and José Mu?oz on your new roles! ?? #Innovation #FutureOfWork