Colorado BETR Project
Helping Colorado Prepared a
21st Century Workforce
THE CHALLENGE:
The State of Colorado, and the Nation, has a growing emergency in preparing the business workforces for our 21st Century employment situations. Business needs and talents standards (workforce readiness) are just becoming a major concern for our educational system's graduates. This issue has already increased the deficiencies that exist between the supply and demand of today's Colorado grown workforce applicants. Recognizing that those exiting the educational system pipelines who aren't workforce ready represent an even larger gap than those ill prepared by k-12 education for higher education, the need exist to identify for all job seekers the remediation they need to get and keep work. Acknowledgement that today's business standards call for skills and backgrounds that not only include high levels of: science, technology, engineering, math(STEM) proficiencies but "soft skills" sets that include communications, working with others, professional career desires and work ethic values for all those applying in today's job markets is the major task in front of us!
The Colorado BETR Project has been formed to “to help facilitate the change” in workforces applicants attitudes and training. The project is comprised of partnerships between business, education, and government, to help assist teachers, learners, parents and others in the P-20 system with overcoming these challenges job seekers are facing. The "Colorado BETR Project" is an initiative that needs and seeks input and efforts from all thoise involved in sharing and focusing our talents to solve these deficiencies in filling our own community's job needs. The primary goal is basically one to significantly “reduce the leaks in the educational pipeline" we've identified and strengthen the skills and competence of future workers for their careers and endeavors.
The Problem:
Large amounts of statistical data show there are expansive segments of the last 2 American generations completing education with both low levels of academic achievement and interests. This combined with the exiting from our workforces through ageing of the most highly educated and technically productive generation in U.S. history only intensifies the country's economic and jobs situations. The lost of skills and talents of this adaptive (baby boom) generation have started a projected drop to the average education levels and the aptitudes of the entire U.S. Workforce.
The Colorado BETR Project seeks to use this talent before it's all gone to help meet labor’s demand for quailfied applicants. This projected decline in educational and skills levels also directly coincides with the expanding growth and needs in knowledge-based 21st Century business workplaces. This productive part of our society requires professional, confident, flexible, self-directed, capable, communicative, highly-educated workers. Combined with an expansion at the same time of the global economy in the country forces our nation’s businesses to increase high level opportunities to remain competitive. These businesses have to hire the best skilled & educated workers from wherever they may be found. As other developed nations continue to improve their educational pipelines into work, the United States 20th Century educational system graduated workers will increasingly find their selves at a competitive disadvantage in any market place.
The Solution:
Colorado Business is a key factor in helping create a solution for improving the skills of homegrown relevant talent. Informed schools, teachers, learners and parents with the knowledge and preparations for STEM careers are critical to establishing workforces capable of changing our nation’s present course. Success in this initiative is vital to success in the economic viability and sustainability of every region of Colorado and our country.
The Colorado Business and Education Talent Readiness (BETR) Project continues to offer improved education and training program solutions and resources in an evolving process for education, business and government to promote the workforce skills necessary. The value in these program efforts comes from you, your schools, your communities, your businesses and leaders all participating together (being on the "Same Page") to create a “BETR” Colorado for everyone!
Our state needs a better prepared 21st Century Workforce. Workers need a "Good Job" to determine their "Quality of Life" and effect positive Economic Change for everyone!
