Northern Colorado K20 Pathways to Employment Report Unveiled

In a true regional collaboration, the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce, the Community Foundation of Northern Colorado, and The Weld Trust, in partnership with Colorado Succeeds, proudly announce the public release of the Northern Colorado K20 Pathways to Employment report.

Drafted in response to current and anticipated workforce development challenges, the report outlines what programs and resources exist for learners in Northern Colorado and identifies potential opportunities to support them in achieving career and post-secondary success. The report recognizes proactive workforce development as critical to the long-term vitality of Northern Colorado.

The K20 Pathways to Employment report considers insights from stakeholder interviews with school districts, higher education institutions, Larimer County Economic and Workforce Development, Employment Services of Weld County, and key regional employers.

Notable takeaways include:

  • The Northern Colorado workforce ecosystem is poised to accelerate and scale more efficient and effective pathways to employment.
  • Stakeholders are engaged and motivated to continue strengthening partnerships to improve and expand career-based learning opportunities.
  • A regional approach is needed to ensure talent pipelines are responsive to labor market demands, programs are built with equity and access in mind, and resources are shared beyond school, district, higher education, and municipal boundaries.

The report states the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce, Community Foundation of Northern Colorado, and The Weld Trust are well-positioned to convene, activate, and guide key regional stakeholders across the talent continuum. Funding to support further investment in pathways to employment efforts will be explored across public and private sources as opportunities arise.

These three organizations will host a public meeting Friday, January 20 to discuss findings from the report in greater detail, discuss regional priorities, and provide an update on regional efforts to implement recommendations. The time and venue of this event are to-be-determined. More information will be released in the coming weeks.

To view the Northern Colorado K20 Pathways to Employment report, visit https://bit.ly/K20PathwaystoEmployment .


Fort Collins Chamber of Commerce media contact: Yvonne Myers, 970.482.3746, ymyers@fcchamber.org

Community Foundation media contact: Claire Bouchard, 970.488.1976, claire@nocofoundation.org

Fort Collins Area Chamber Prioritizes Talent

A key priority for your Fort Collins Area Chamber is to implement a variety of strategies to support employers in attracting and retaining the talent they need to ensure a competitive advantage for area employers through quality workers and for workers through quality jobs.

We have been a Champion for this talent work since 2017 and are excited to share resources from our Talent Summit and our Talent Series. Our new VP for Strategic Initiatives, Yvonne Myers, has created and curated amazing resources that can help your business be successful. Your membership and our Northern Colorado Prospers 2.0 Investors allow her to move quickly and effectively for you, the business community.

Make sure to check out the amazing line up of experiences and check out the videos. There are tremendous ideas for all of us to implement to keep and grow our workforce.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE INVESTS $986,157 IN CARES ACT RECOVERY ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT REGIONAL WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS IN NORTHERN COLORADO

WASHINGTON – On September 9, 2021, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $986,157 CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to Larimer County, Colorado, to update and expand workforce development strategies and sector partnerships in the region. This EDA grant, to be matched with $246,539 in local investment, is expected to create 495 jobs.

“The Biden Administration is committed to helping communities across the nation implement strategies to mitigate economic hardships brought on by the coronavirus pandemic,” said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Alejandra Y. Castillo. “This EDA investment will update and expand a regional workforce strategy to help employers develop and retain talent, align education and workforce resources with industry needs, and create good-paying jobs.”

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Colorado Jobs and Labor Force Update: July 2021

The CSI has released its latest report about Colorado jobs and labor force.

Key Findings:

  • Colorado added 14,800 total nonfarm jobs in July. At this pace, the state would reach pre-pandemic employment levels by Jan. ’22. To recover to pre-pandemic employment levels by January 2023—after adjusting for population growth—Colorado needs add 9,202 jobs each month on average.
  • Total employment levels are down 3% or 85,900 jobs relative to pre-pandemic levels, ranking Colorado 16th in terms of July 2021 job levels relative to January 2020.

The #Shecession still looms… The July Labor Force Participation Rate for moms in Colorado was down 7 percentage points from 76.2% in January 2020 to 69.2% in July 2021. If the pre-pandemic LFPR for CO had maintained, there would be 96,155 more women in the labor force today.

Read Full Report

To better support Northern Colorado Prospers (NCP) strategic initiatives, NCP is a member of the Common Sense Institute (CSI), a non-partisan research organization dedicated to the protection and promotion of Colorado’s economy.

With this membership, we have first access to the CSI research, articles, insights and discussions surrounding the business community, with topics including fiscal impacts of policies, initiatives, and proposed laws”

Colorado Jumpstart Incentive

Unemployed Coloradans Who Return to Work are Eligible for an Incentive

On Wednesday, Governor Jared Polis signed an Executive Order creating a new monetary incentive program to support unemployed Coloradans as they return to work full time. Under the Colorado Jumpstart incentive program, unemployed individuals are eligible to receive an incentive of up to $1,600 to support the transition into full-time work.

“Powering the comeback means supporting Coloradans getting back to work and our businesses as they expand,” said Governor Jared Polis. “We know that getting back to work doesn’t mean all the financial challenges Coloradans are facing just disappear, and we want to ensure that as more people are returning to the workforce, we are setting them up for success.”

To be eligible for an incentive, Colorado’s unemployed workers must have received at least one week of unemployment benefits of $25 or more between March 28, 2021 and May 16, 2021 and have verified their identities via ID.me. A full list of eligibility requirements is posted on ColoradoUI.gov. Eligible claimants who return to work full time in May will receive a Colorado Jumpstart incentive of $1,600. Those who return to work full time in June will receive an incentive of $1,200.

“More than a year after this pandemic swept through Colorado, we know that many Coloradans are not completely back on their feet just yet. That’s why we are taking this important step to provide support to those who need it most as they transition back into the workforce,” said CDLE Executive Director Joe Barela. “This won’t just help Coloradans, it’s going to help businesses to have a productive workforce, ready to power our economy and comeback.”

Newly employed workers must maintain full-time employment for at least eight weeks to receive the full incentive. The incentive payments are expected to be issued during July and August of 2021 and will be distributed in two installments. Claimants will become eligible for the first half of the incentive after approximately four weeks of full-time employment, and will become eligible for the remaining half after approximately eight weeks.

Claimants currently receiving Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits, workshare claimants, and out-of-state claimants are not eligible for the incentive program.

 

More Information and Additional Resources:

www.ColoradoUI.gov

Colorado Jumpstart Fact Sheet

Employers FAQs

CSU System economic study shows impact on talent retention, jobs, revenue

The three Colorado State University System campuses – and the out-of-state students they attract – fuel nearly 23,000 Colorado jobs and more than $237.74 million in state income and sales tax revenue annually.

In its first-ever Systemwide economic impact study, a team of economists quantified the CSU System’s unique contributions to the Colorado economy in terms of jobs, research, and the contributions of the System’s more than 112,250 living alumni who are currently working in Colorado. Highlights and a full report are available here.

Among the report’s key findings: the CSU System is an important factor in Colorado’s workforce talent retention. About 50% of the students who moved to Colorado to attend a CSU campus since 2005 have stayed here after graduating. And 86% of Colorado residents who attended CSU institutions are still in the state. Nearly 1 in 25 Colorado workers has a degree from a CSU System campus, and their alumni income translates into more than $209 million in state income tax revenue and $128 million in sales, use, and excise tax revenue. In other words, about 3% of the state’s total collections can be attributed to CSU graduates.

The three CSU System campuses – the flagship research university in Fort Collins; CSU Pueblo, a regionally focused Hispanic-serving institution; and the fully online CSU Global – together enroll more than 60,000 new and returning students each year. The CSU System has nearly 300,000 living alumni worldwide.

“Clearly, CSU plays a critical role in our state’s future productivity and ability to remain an innovation hub in economically important industries,” CSU System Chancellor Tony Frank said. “We’re not manufacturing a product; we’re educating people who contribute to society in all the ways educated people do – as teachers, scientists, doctors and nurses, business leaders, manufacturers, technologists, artists, engineers, and the countless other roles that are typically filled by people with higher education.”

The study was conducted by CSU Fort Collins faculty Drs. Rebecca Hill of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Harvey Cutler and Martin Shields of Economics. They were supported by graduate research assistants Lauren Mangus and Kevin Crofton.

“The CSU System’s economic impact is felt statewide by bringing in money from federal agencies, out-of-state students, and by transferring knowledge to businesses and industries across Colorado,” the authors wrote in the report. “The CSU System’s economic impact in Fort Collins and Pueblo includes factors considered in the statewide impact, plus money injected into the region from both state government and students from across the state.”

Among the report’s other highlights:

  • 112,250 CSU System alumni working in the state earned an estimated $7.57 billion from their jobs in 2019 – roughly $2.9 billion more than they could have expected in wages if they’d only finished high school.
  • The overall statewide economic impact of the CSU System translates to roughly 22,785 Colorado jobs and $237.74 million in-state income (individual and corporate) and sales tax revenue that the state would not otherwise have had.
  • CSU Fort Collins’ massive mobilization around COVID-19 research has ranked it in the Top 10 universities in the world working on research and cures related to the virus. Last year, the university’s technology and intellectual property licensing office reported 23 COVID-related inventions.
  • In total, business spin-off and increases in regional productivity stemming from CSU Fort Collins translate into an additional 645 jobs and $25.3 million in household income for the Larimer County economy.

The study noted data from the American Community Survey showing that the average annual earnings for employed Coloradans with a four-year degree were around $70,000, compared to $36,000 average earnings for those with a high-school diploma. College-educated workers are also less likely to be unemployed, less likely to have seen their jobs impacted by the recession, less likely to access public assistance programs, and more likely to have employer-sponsored health insurance.

The study highlighted the tremendous impact CSU campuses have on their local economies.

  • The Fort Collins area receives more than $36 million in local sales and use tax revenues from economic activity related to CSU’s operations, student spending, and university related start-ups and business assistance. Total direct and indirect city employment impacts are estimated at more than 17,300 jobs, out of a total of 84,000 jobs in the city.
  • CSU Fort Collins students not originally from the city spend about $319.1 million dollars a year in the community, which supports 2,700 jobs and $7.9 million in local sales and use tax revenue, either directly or through multiplier effects. This represents about 5% of Fort Collins sales and use tax revenue.
  • CSU Fort Collins is an innovation incubator. In 2020, funded research exceeded $400 million for the first time ever. Start-ups and knowledge spillovers related to CSU Fort Collins generate significant additional local economic activity, translating into an additional 645 jobs and $25.3 million in household income.

The taxpayers of Colorado invest in state colleges and universities, Frank said. This report is a testament to the value those institutions give back.

“Universities contribute to the economy as employers and by spending money to keep our operations functioning, as well as by graduating skilled workers,” Frank said. “We also attract people to Colorado from out of state who spend their dollars here, whether as students, conference attendees, or visiting parents and family members. Thousands of jobs across Colorado that aren’t directly connected to a college or university still depend on these institutions to survive.”

Public colleges and universities can be islands of stability and sustained employment for communities statewide, he added. “We learned from the Great Recession that communities that are home to a college or university rebounded more quickly – and that is a strength for all of Colorado, which has built a system of higher education that is geographically diverse and designed to serve all corners of the state.”

Read the full report here: https://csusystem.edu/economic-impact/

FORBES: The 5 Most Important Job Skills For The Future

Enterprise Tech

Our workplaces are changing, and the changes are dramatic. Professionals need to pay attention to and prepare for the workplaces of the future. An important aspect of this preparation is to develop the job skills that will help you succeed and thrive in the new reality of the next decade. Consider how your own career has evolved over the last five years, and you can imagine how much it may change in the next five. These are the most important job skills for the future, and there’s no better time than now to start building them.

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How Businesses are Feeling about the Area & Economy

You’ve seen it printed, it was discussed at the Northern Colorado Prospers (NCP) Annual Summit and your support helped with the creation of it. Now, here is your electronic version of the Northern Colorado Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E) Annual Report 2018.

The Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with the Business Retention and Expansion Partnership of Larimer County, released the report earlier this month. The report’s high points include year-over-year growth in gross regional product, low unemployment rates and strong job growth in the Larimer and Weld County region.

The Partnership, made up of the City of Fort Collins, City of Loveland, Town of Windsor, Town of Berthoud, Town of Wellington, Larimer County, Larimer County Small Business Development Center, Larimer County Economic and Workforce Development, Loveland Chamber of Commerce, Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce, Estes Park EDC and One NoCo, has taken on the task of staying in close contact with the area’s primary employers to understand needs, expansion opportunities and the risk of losing key employers.

The partnership gathered 315 responses from regional businesses in 2018.

The final data showed a generally optimistic view of the economy, as well as positive reports of business growth and expansion. Most interviewees indicated they have added workers over the last three years and are planning to add more in the next three years. However, businesses consistently reported Interstate 25 and workforce as major challenges, citing key barriers of finding talent, employee retention, a lack of skilled labor, scarce resources and area cost of living.

“Economically, taking care of the primary employers already here is top priority. To do that we need to have strong relationships with them and be in regular contact. That’s what the partnership is about. The data from 2018 indicates employers are pleased to be here and are planning to add work and hire more people. They also made it clear that work force is a big issue we need to stay focused on,” said David May, President & CEO of the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce.

The Partnership will continue to conduct primary employer interviews to engage with more businesses in the two-county region and publish a second annual report.

If you would like to participate in future data collection, please contact the Chamber at 970-482-3746. Also, stop by the Chamber office if you would like physical copies of the report.

FastCompany: 5 ways work culture will change by 2030

Technology, talent shortage, and trust are just a few of the issues that will challenge workplace culture over the next decade.

BY GWEN MORAN

Recent years have seen an exceptional awareness and prioritization of workplace culture by both employers and employees. Culture is a company’s “personality,” including the behavioral expectations, practices, and other norms that influence how people interact both internally and on its behalf. Ignore it at your own risk. Recent research by Hired found that company culture is the second most important factor candidates consider when considering whether to work for a company.

At the same time, workplace culture is being influenced by disparate factors in significant ways. Demographic shifts, diversity and inclusion initiatives, talent shortages, automation, evolving technology, and an onslaught of data are converging to create both immediate and long-term changes.

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Chamber Hosts First Northern Colorado Prospers LIVE Online Update

The Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce hosted the first Northern Colorado Prospers (NCP) LIVE Online Update during the morning of January 30, 2019.

The Chamber was excited to present in a different way to update investors on the NCP goals by using Zoom web conferencing.

During the presentation, David May, talked about the work on the new Talent Portal website, 2019 transportation efforts, April 2 Election issues and candidates, progress on employer interviews and much more.

Click here for the Recorded Online Presentation

Click here for the NCP Quarterly Update Publication . 

The next NCP event is the Annual Summit held on April 10 at a location TBD.