Building a talent base to drive prosperity.
The Metro Denver WIRED Initiative is a partnership between industry, workforce, education, and economic development in the seven-county Metro Denver region and two-county Northern Colorado area. It addresses the “Colorado Paradox” of having the country’s second most educated workforce, yet ranking 24th in sending high school graduates on to college.
WIRED partners are implementing transformational and sustainable changes in our education and workforce systems to enhance the region's global competitiveness. WIRED seeks to further develop a labor force skilled in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) that supports the region’s fastest growing industries – aerospace, bioscience, energy, and information technology.
The initiative is funded by a four-year, $15 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. Approximately 80 percent of grant funds are awarded to programs that enhance partnerships among business, education, and workforce as well as promote STEM education in our schools.
In January 2007, $3.8 million in funds were awarded through the JumpStart grant program, the first subgrant process of the WIRED Initiative. JumpStart supports collaborations among existing education, training, entrepreneurship and other workforce or industry-specific career development partners that expand and/or replicate successful programs to serve the needs of the Metro Denver WIRED Initiative’s target industries.
The Initiative also funded a workforce study of industry and workforce needs; and, identify the resources currently available in the Metro Denver region to plan strategies and recruit and develop talent. This analysis will help create an action plan to address the region’s short-term and long-term workforce needs. WIRED will also build upon existing partnerships and leverage public and private funding sources to sustain WIRED successes well beyond the life of the grant.