Education & Workforce Committee

COBRT Ed Committee’s View on the Landscape:

By 2027, Colorado’s employment is projected to grow by 19.37% in all sectors tracked by the CO Department of Labor & Employment, with the most significant increases in demand for personnel in Construction and Extraction, Food Preparation and Service, Healthcare Practitioners, Office and Admin Support, Business and Financial Operations, and Sales.  And, when it comes to its competitiveness and ability to contribute to the growth of the overall tech industry, Colorado ranks as one of the top states in the country, and in fact, the 2018 Milken Institute State Technology and Science Index ranks Colorado No. 2, behind Massachusetts**.  The ability of Colorado to meet labor force projections and the opportunities for which it has positioned itself, will require a qualified workforce that can fill positions in all of Colorado’s 22 sectors.

Specifically, 75% of CO “top jobs” defined as those that are projected to 1) pay living wages, 2) have more than 2.4% annual job growth and 3) the highest level of job openings^, are expected to require long-term on-the-job-training and apprenticeships (10%), post-secondary certificates (17%), associate degrees (3%), Bachelor’s degrees (29%), Master’s degrees (5%), and/or Doctoral/Professional degrees (17%).

*https://www.colmigateway.com/vosnet/analyzer/results.aspx?enc=L3Rx1LKHF+xq6eiD/TQsJUscs4fpuIN/O5qqpTbo6Cg=
^https://highered.colorado.gov/data/Workforce/briefs/Supply-demand_brief_12-2016.pdf),
** https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2018/12/19/colorado-contribution-tech-economy.html

To meet the Challenges for the future of Colorado’s workforce readiness, the Committee has identified 3 factors for its focus:

-            The majority of Colorado’s educated workers are coming from outside of Colorado due to desirable living standards, but it could be problematic if there is a slowdown in the number of people who move into Colorado.  And yet that paradigm presents a good opportunity for additional future employees if we can improve the education levels of native Coloradans.

Known as the Colorado Paradox in which more than 3 times the number of non-natives have a college degree than the number of natives (https://webdoc.agsci.colostate.edu/bspm/DUMC/Paradox.pdf)

-            There are many new organizations and initiatives all working to address multiple pathways to workplace readiness starting with and beyond high school-age citizens with notable efforts currently occurring to coordinate them.  Our supporting contributions to help further build and expand those efforts towards measurable outcomes through select actions could lead to significant and unprecedented impact.

-            Many organizations and school districts in Colorado have innovative programs that are working to prepare K-12 kids for future jobs. With the power of COBRT, its members, we can connect the organizations with entities that are naturally engaged with Colorado youth e.g., YMCAs, Boys & Girls Clubs et al. and find grant opportunities to cover administrative expenses associated with new pathways for student and stakeholder success.

Committee Members Include:

Becky Takeda-Tinker, President, CSU-Global

Scott Hughes, National Director of Strategic Initiatives Group, Apple

Ray Johnson, Corporate Citizenship Manager, IBM

Phil Kalin, CEO, Pinnacol Assurance

Rebecca Kersting, Co-President, CAP Logistics


COBRT Education Committee  - Member Highlight

Scott Hughes, National Director of Strategic Initiatives Group, Apple

Scott Hughes is a multi-talented and effective advocate for fundamental change.  

As a member of COBRT’s Education Committee, Scott is an enthusiastic and well-informed leader for innovation in education leading to measurable workforce success.  And, as the National Director of Strategic Initiatives for Apple, Scott demonstrates his strong expertise in communications and government relations through his skilled legislative, lobbying and advocacy work at the federal, state and local levels. 

“I enjoy building coalitions and leading teams to successfully bring about positive change that benefits diverse stakeholders,” says Scott Hughes.  “As a COBRT board member, I enjoy being able to interact with other like-minded Colorado leaders, and as a member of the Education Committee I have a unique opportunity to contribute to the many education-to-workforce initiatives taking place in our state.”

If you are an organizational leader and interested in joining COBRT and participating in the Education Committee,
please contact Lisa Gregg at
[email protected] .