Last summer, a handful of graduating seniors from Jefferson County and Denver Public Schools walked onto CoorsTek’s manufacturing floor and began a 15-month apprenticeship in Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machining. When these students complete the program this fall, they will be eligible for entry-level roles at the 13 Colorado manufacturing companies that make up the NextGen Manufacturing Alliance.

This innovative apprenticeship program solves problems that employers and job seekers across Colorado face: too often workers are trained for jobs that do not exist while employers have open roles with no pipeline. Business leaders see that gap first, and they are the ones positioned to close it. 

In 2022, the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) launched Opportunity Now, a $90 million workforce development initiative that connects education and training programs directly with Colorado employers to strengthen talent pipelines in advanced industries, such as manufacturing, quantum and aerospace as well as foundational industries like education, healthcare and construction. This initiative is both creating employment opportunities for Coloradans while also supporting employers. 

With the support of Opportunity Now, CoorsTek, a global manufacturer of technical ceramics, brought together 13 manufacturers — including Lockheed Martin, Ball Corporation, PepsiCo and Emerson — to form the NextGen Manufacturing Alliance. Instead of competing for the same scarce workers, leaders from these companies determined that roughly 80 percent of the technical skills they needed were the same. They worked together to define shared career pathways, map credentials at each level and produce a jointly validated standard recognized by all 13 employers. CoorsTek then built the Advanced Manufacturing Training Center in Golden with two training bays, one for its own proprietary technology and one open to community colleges, workforce development centers and other manufacturers. 

Similarly, three semiconductor companies competing for the same technicians in Colorado Springs aligned to develop a one-year semiconductor certification at Pikes Peak State College. At Microchip Technology, InnovaFlex® Foundry and Entegris, senior technicians are nearing retirement. While these companies can hire entry-level production workers, they struggle to find mid-level technicians to bridge the gap. The Opportunity Now grant funds a one-year semiconductor certification program at Pikes Peak State College designed to close that gap, advancing entry-level production specialists into technician roles. The coalition’s success is built on the program’s ability to adapt to the workforce needs of different employers. For instance, Entegris filled most of the early seats in the inaugural cohort because of strong immediate demand. Aligning class schedules across the three different shift structures took time, but Pikes Peak State College adjusted to meet the employers where they were and the certification is now enrolling employees from all three companies. 

Opportunity Now shows how Colorado works with and supports the business community to meet current needs by ensuring that Coloradans develop the skills to fill the jobs employers need to innovate and grow. The impact of these investments is not limited to metro areas. 

In rural Southern Colorado, it is common for young people to leave home to find a good job. The Emergent Campus is working to change that. With support from an Opportunity Now grant, the program brings technology jobs and training to communities like Florence and Trinidad, where talented workers already live. In just 22 months, it has helped place 111 people in jobs, generating $7 million in primary income and an estimated $15 million to $16 million in annual economic impact.

The model inverts conventional workforce development. Instead of training people and sending them to where the jobs are, Emergent Campus recruits technology employers to communities where talented workers already live, then trains local residents to fill the roles. Defense contractors from Colorado Springs now treat the region’s small towns as a single distributed workforce. When a contractor needs to fill a large contract, they call one number and draw talent from across five rural communities. 

At OEDIT and the Colorado Business Roundtable, we are working directly with business and community leaders to strengthen Colorado’s long-term growth. 

Opportunity Now grantees are projected to serve 20,000 Coloradans, with more than 8,200 already placed in jobs across advanced industries, healthcare, education, construction and infrastructure. Those numbers represent employers, educators and even competitors choosing to problem-solve together and create opportunities for Coloradans to build careers without leaving their home communities. Business is a force for good when it invests in people first. That kind of collaboration is the Colorado way.

Debbie Brown is the President of the Colorado Business Roundtable, a public policy organization of executives from some of the state’s leading employers working to strengthen the state’s economic vitality. Eve Lieberman was appointed by the Governor to serve as the Executive Director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) in January 2023. As Executive Director, Eve has championed economic competitiveness programs that ensure businesses of all sizes have access to capital and robust talent pipelines that train Colorado’s workforce in in-demand skills.