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WIRED Initiative

Metro Denver WIRED Initiative panels

Industry panels

Earlier in the Metro Denver WIRED Initiative, eight panels were convened, representing various stakeholder groups. These included industry panels for each of the four targeted industry clusters – aerospace, bioscience, energy, and Information technology-software, as well as K-12 Education, Higher Education, the Public Workforce System, and Small Business/Entrepreneurs panels.

Under the leadership of industry representatives, and staffed by WIRED Industry Coordinators, each industry panel:

  • Identified in-demand and hardest-to-fill jobs.
  • Identified existing training resources used by industry, including traditional education resources, training provided through industry associations, and nontraditional programs.
  • Identified gaps between current resources and identified workforce needs.
  • Developed recommendations for filling those gaps.
  • Assisted with the RFP process to fund promising practices.

Workforce System Panel

The panel consisted of workforce system directors and local Workforce Investment Board (WIB) members from each of the nine counties in the Metro Denver region and was staffed by the Director of the Workforce Board of Metro Denver. This panel assisted with an inventory of workforce programs that trained individuals for cluster businesses, analyzed gaps in training, and developed the system’s response to regional employer needs.

K-12 Panel

The panel consisted of experts in K-12 education, particularly in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs and staffed by the Colorado Children’s Campaign. The panel identified programs in the region’s school districts that improve STEM skills for students, analyzed gaps, and developed strategies to increase the number of students who pursue post-secondary education and/or industry-approved certification.

Higher Education Panel

The panel consisted of academics and other experts from community and four-year colleges and universities and convened by the Graduate School of Public Affairs of the University of Colorado. The panel identified the current number of higher education students in the pipeline for occupations in the targeted clusters, identified programs that met the needs of cluster employers, analyzed gaps and developed action plans to address the needs identified by WIRED industries.

Small Business/Entrepreneurship Panel

The panel was convened by the Colorado Small Business Development Center Network and consisted of small businesses in WIRED target industry clusters, entrepreneurship programs, associations that help small businesses, and tech transfer programs. The panel identified program capacity, analyzed gaps, and developed action plans to address needs of small businesses in the industry.
 
Each of the eight panels developed a set of recommendations for addressing the gaps between WIRED industries’ workforce needs, and the regional resources available to meet those needs. These recommendations were then prioritized for action by WIRED’s Leadership Council, and informed the development of WIRED’s Workforce Innovation Grants.