Workforce Development

The Challenge

There is a gap between jobs available in Boulder and the workforce available to fill those positions across all industries and skill levels. One contributing factor to the overall challenge is the lack of training specific to the needs of local businesses.  Another contributing factor is the challenge to recruiting / retaining talent to jobs in Boulder region.

Trends indicate this gap will only grow in the next few years, especially as workplace environments continue to evolve and more jobs require higher levels of technological literacy and professional competencies.

Our Goal

Meet our region's workforce demands, drive collaborative community-wide partnerships to define Boulder’s workforce needs and develop the talent pool using workforce training and recruitment strategies to meet the demand for high-quality, qualified talent today and into the future.

Facts to Consider

Demand for computer and math talent in Boulder County is nearly 10x the number of applicants for those jobs

The number of job seekers in 2020 increased 193% compared to the first two quarters of 2018, reflecting the impact the pandemic response continues to have on job seekers

Strategies

  • Conduct Boulder talent gap analysis to create baseline metrics for the region and share results with education, community and business partners to generate awareness of workforce development gaps.

  • Collaborate regionally on responsive partnerships that can achieve industry goals and implement programming.

  • Provide businesses with education, direct resources and the infrastructure for instituting skills-based hiring, internships, apprenticeships, externships, K-12 programming, upskilling / re-skilling programs and other training options.

  • Track and communicate Boulder industry workforce needs to public partners, including K-12 education, higher education, economic development partners, and workforce development, to directly impact current and future programming.    

  • Represent business / industry voice in Colorado Workforce Development Council initiatives, including the Talent Equity Agenda, Talent Pipeline Report, career pathway discussions and more, and help to implement strategies locally. 

  • Facilitate the exploration of a community-wide, online job and internship portal for local business and local education partners.

Join us in meeting Boulder's workforce development needs.

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