Ritter unveils job-creation strategy

DENVER – Gov. Bill Ritter and his Colorado Jobs Cabinet Monday unveiled a statewide job-creation strategy.

The strategy offers five major recommendations:

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• Collaboration between local education, economic development and workforce training programs aimed at meeting workforce needs;
• Engagement of employers in the job-training process;
• Marketing to promote workforce development programs to Colorado businesses;
• Information provided through a coordinated website for easy access to local workforce resources and information;
• Leadership from the Governor’s Office to oversee implementation of the recommendations and access progress.

“These are tough times,” Ritter said in announcing the plan. “But over the past two and a half years we’ve developed a focused business-development strategy and made key investments in education, job training and workforce development. These recommendations add to that and will help ensure we recover stronger, quicker and healthier. The Jobs Cabinet has laid out a roadmap that will help us create a highly skilled and educated workforce and improve the competitiveness of Colorado business. This will be a key part of our job-creation strategy as we lead Colorado forward.”

The cabinet was convened last year with around 40 members. Northern Colorado participants include Susan Kirkpatrick, the executive director of the Department of Local Affairs; Thomas Gendron, CEO of Fort Collins-based Woodward Governor; Hans Jesperson, vice president and general manager of Vestas Blades America’s Windsor site; Rocky Scott, formerly with McWhinney in Loveland; Blanche Hughes, Colorado State University’s vice president of student affairs; and Marsi Liddell, president of Aims Community College. The group formulated the strategy following 19 community meetings around the state. The report, “Economic Competitiveness Through Collaboration, Talent Development and Innovation,” featured a recent workforce collaboration in Larimer County as a model of best practices.