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Workforce Development Evidence-Building Hub

A teenager works on machine in a skilled trade workshop with a wall of keys
Funding Partner/ Hub Sponsor
Anschutz Foundation Colorado Governor’s Office Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade Prosperity Denver Fund Rose Community Foundation Trailhead Institute WorkRise
Other Partners
Linked Information Network of Colorado (LINC)
Hub Status
In Progress
Methods
Descriptive Analysis Pre-Post Outcomes Analysis Quasi-Experimental Design Randomized Controlled Trial
Hub Resources
CWDC 2023 Talent Pipeline Report

Hub Overview

The Workforce Development Evidence-Building Hub was launched in collaboration with the Colorado Equitable Economic Mobility Initiative (CEEMI) and industry partners to meet the growing demand for data-driven insights and the need to create transformative change for Colorado’s workforce. The Hub aims to analyze employment and earnings outcomes for participants in workforce training and upskilling programs with the goal of understanding how to best develop talent for critical industries.

Funded and supported by our industry partners, the Hub is positioned to inform targeted investments in innovative talent development programs. The Hub builds upon lessons learned from investments made through the American Rescue Plan Act and State Land Local Fiscal Recovery Funds by establishing a pathway for training providers to track crucial labor market outcomes for their participants. The Hub accomplishes this by conducting evaluations leveraging its partnership with LINC and data provided by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.

The Hub groups various workforce training and upskilling programs into cohorts. The cohort organization of projects allows the Colorado Lab to support and evaluate programs individually while also providing broader cohort-wide insights. The first cohort of program participants includes six programs; an additional six programs are at various points in the process for inclusion in either the second or third cohort.

Workforce Development Evidence-Building Hub

Cash for Coloradans

Project Overview

Cash for Coloradans evaluates the effects of ActivateWorks’ no-interest loan and the Center for Employment Opportunities’ (CEO) unconditional-use cash stipend program on participant engagement and career progression. Both upskilling programs are providing the Colorado Lab data needed to understand the efficacy of providing cash assistance to their learners and whether these incentives can feasibly be scaled to meet Colorado’s workforce needs.

For ActivateWork, the Colorado Lab is conducting a randomized controlled trial in line with Step 5 on the Steps to Building Evidence. An approached based on a difference-in-differences quasi-experimental design was used to evaluate CEO’s workforce readiness program in line with Step 4 on the Steps to Building Evidence.

The Colorado Lab produced preliminary evaluation reports in winter 2024. These reports provide both programs with valuable feedback on how financial support affects program completion and employment outcomes.

Project Partner

ActivateWork is a recruiting, training, and coaching nonprofit that connects employers to a diverse pool of exceptional talent. ActivateWork is helping employers in Colorado solve talent gaps by finding promising candidates who aspire to work in tech and preparing them to excel in new careers. Their proprietary screening process, rigorous skills training, and on-the-job coaching is proven to prepare participants to be valuable new hires.

The Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) is a nonprofit providing people returning from prison immediate paid employment, skills training, and ongoing career support to reduce recidivism. CEO operates transitional work crews in Colorado and provides a robust set of wraparound vocational support services to ensure participants have the support they need to be successful in their careers after prison.

Actionability

The Workforce Development Evidence-Building Hub will build evidence that informs the potential sustaining and scaling of investments in workforce development. The Hub is addressing Colorado’s workforce needs by providing information needed for understanding the value of upskilling to industry and educational institutions.

The Hub’s focus aligns with the Governor’s Cabinet Working Group on Workforce’s Wildly Important Priority to “invest in all Coloradans having access to upskilling or undertaking postsecondary education that results in meaningful skills training with an emphasis on preparing the state to meet crucial workforce needs across in-demand industries, and ensure that training results in improved job opportunities and career mobility.”

Get Involved

For more information about working with the Colorado Lab, see Government and Community Partnerships or Research Partnerships.

Government and Community PartnershipsResearch Partnerships