Metro Denver kicks off $15 million WIRED Initiative

Federal officials join locals to prepare Metro Denver's economy for the future

The Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation (Metro Denver EDC) joined the Denver Office of Economic Development and the State of Colorado in May 2006 for the official kickoff of the Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) initiative in Metro Denver.

In February, the U.S. Department of Labor awarded $15 million to develop a pipeline of workers for the region's fastest-growing industries, including aerospace, bioscience, energy, and information technology. The initiative officially kicked off with comments from U.S. Department of Labor Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training Emily Stover DeRocco, and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper.

Metro Denver is one of 13 U.S. recipients of the WIRED funds to develop and implement a "transformational" approach to regional economic development. The grants focus on the role of talent development in driving economic competitiveness, increased job growth, and new opportunities for American workers.

Metro Denver's initial WIRED activities will include an inventory of existing programs to establish what is already in place, an assessment of target-industry workforce needs, and an analysis of existing education gaps that could fill those needs. The grant will fund new initiatives to fill workforce gaps, while ensuring that changes have long-term and regional impact.

"This grant represents cooperation and hard work from city, state, and economic development groups in the nine-county Metro Denver region," said Tom Clark, Executive Vice President of Metro Denver EDC. "We look forward to taking our regional partnership to the next level, using these funds to expand programs that provide top-notch, high-technology workforce training."

Metro Denver counties involved in the WIRED project include Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, Jefferson, Larimer, and Weld.

In December 2005, the City and County of Denver’s Office of Economic Development convened a regional group of leaders from the business, foundation, economic, workforce development and education sectors to develop a response to the WIRED grant solicitation. The resulting application, "Growing our own: A model for reducing dependence on imported skills," was given to Colorado Governor Bill Owens to present to the U.S. Department of Labor.

"Metro Denver recognizes the critical role that regional collaboration must play in innovation-based economic growth, which is why metro leaders came together to pursue this highly competitive funding opportunity," said Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper. "We are grateful to the U.S. Department of Labor for enabling us to strategically invest these funds to educate and develop the local workforce that high-tech industries need and our economic growth requires."

A 2005 report from the Metro Denver EDC, "Toward a More Competitive Colorado," illustrates the education inconsistency known as the Colorado Paradox: Colorado boasts the 4th highest percentage of college graduates (now second according to 2005 U.S. Census data) in the nation, but our state comes in 32nd in sending high school graduates to college. In short, Colorado imports a majority of its highly educated workers rather than educating them within the state. Business leaders and elected officials have discussed ways to shrink the gap, and preparing Metro Denver's workforce for careers in "knowledge-based" industries is a step in the right direction, Hickenlooper added.

The kickoff event included a lunch and program. Afterward, DeRocco joined industry and education representatives, officials from the City and County of Denver, the State of Colorado, and the Metro Denver EDC to discuss ideas and implementation strategies for the WIRED initiative. The Council on Competitiveness, New Economy Strategies and the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning also will join in the planning process to ensure effective use of the grant funds.

"Metro Denver will use WIRED to 'grow its own' regional talent and prepare Colorado's future workforce for careers in the region's growing industries," said DeRocco. "WIRED is an expression of President Bush's belief that developing and applying the American people's skills in productive and innovative ways are critical to keeping our nation competitive in the global economy."