Gov. Jared Polis, along with several state legislators, introduced a comprehensive set of nine bills designed to address Colorado’s workforce shortage. 

According to Polis, there are approximately two jobs for every unemployed Coloradan. However, he said there’s often a “mismatch” between the skills of unemployed individuals and those required by available, well-paying jobs. By increasing funding for apprenticeship and workforce education initiatives, he said, “unemployed Coloradans can get better jobs and those who are employed can earn a better living and gain more skills to be able to support themselves even better.”  

While some of the bills have already been introduced and heard by committees, others are brand new. Below is a list of the bills, along with their sponsors in each chamber and a brief summary. 

1. Continuing Opportunity Now Program

This bill authorizes the fourth and final round of the state’s $85 million Opportunity Now grant program, initiated in 2022 and funded by the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. This final payment allocates $3.8 million for building and construction trades, along with a $15 million refundable tax credit to increase the capacity of eligible training providers. 

“The introduction of this legislation would provide programs like ours with the opportunity to train more students and fill well-paying, in-demand construction jobs,” Barrett said. “Filling 40,000 construction jobs by the end of the decade will take all of us working together. Investments like expanding Opportunity Now to train more people for in-demand jobs in construction is critical to constructing buildings, homes, bridges, roads, and infrastructure for our state. Thank you to Governor Polis and the legislators leading this effort for your continuous support of and investment in the construction trades as we all work to build a strong, robust workforce for the future.”

2. Strengthening Postsecondary Workforce Initiatives 

This bill was introduced based on the recommendations of the 1215 Task Force, established through a bill passed during the 2022 legislative session to provide recommendations to support the “expansion and alignment of programs that integrate secondary, postsecondary, and work-based learning opportunities throughout the state. The bill addresses the task force’s recommendations to study the costs to the state and local education providers to streamline administration and financing of postsecondary workforce readiness programs. It also establishes a statewide longitudinal data system to measure the impact and outcome of those programs.

“With the bill that we have introduced today, we are taking additional steps to bolster new opportunities for young Coloradans in their final years of high school and first years of higher education, a space called ‘the big blur’,” said House Speaker Julie McCluskie, D- Dillon. “We are laying the ground to set Colorado learners on a path to success by improving access to these programs, making sure that whether they’re in rural parts of the state, mountainous parts of the state, or urban or suburban parts of the state, they have access to all these learning opportunities. With the longitudinal data system, this bill will help make workforce data more accessible to our learners, our families, and policy leaders here and across state agencies so that we will really understand the value of these programs and how we can strengthen them and ultimately continue to deliver for more Coloradans in their career success.”

3. Increasing Access to Apprenticeship Opportunities 

This bill provides $2 million in funding to businesses in “new and emerging industries” looking to start or scale an apprenticeship program, $2 million to the organizations that support the administration of those programs, and $30 million in annual refundable tax credits to these businesses to offset apprentices’ wages. 

“With these investments, we can create more than 8,000 new apprentices and boost our workforce,” said Sen. James Coleman, D- Denver. “This policy is good for business, it’s good for our workers, and it’s good for our economy. I look forward to working together to see these investments become law and give more Coloradoans a chance to expand their skills in apprenticeships.”

4. Senate Bill 104: Helping Students Enter Career and Technical Education Apprenticeships

This bill, which passed through the Senate Business, Labor, and Technology Committee and will be heard by the Appropriations Committee on Friday, requires the State Apprenticeship Agency to coordinate with the Colorado Community College System’s Career and Technical Education Division to align high school career and technical education programs with apprenticeship pathways. The bill specifically prioritizes career pathways in in-demand fields like infrastructure, education, and health care. 

5. House Bill 1097: Military Family Occupational Credentialing

This bill expands the state’s occupational credential portability program for spouses and dependents of military members to include family members of Gold Star, Armed Forces Reserve, Ready Reserve, and National Guard members. It also removes the three-year limitation and nonrenewal provision for credentials and allows eligible families to obtain renewable six-year credentials instead. 

6. Senate Bill 050: Colorado Workforce Demonstration Grants Pilot Program

This bill, which passed through the Senate Business, Labor, and Technology Committee and is awaiting an appropriations hearing, creates a workforce demonstration grants pilot program to fund the activities of eligible workforce training providers. Grant recipients will be required to report long-term wage outcomes for participants and priority will be given to those that use “proven and evidence-based” practices. 

7. Senate Bill 143: Credential Quality Apprenticeship Classification

This bill, which passed through the Senate Education Committee and is awaiting an appropriations hearing, builds off previous efforts to measure the quality of nondegree credential framework and develop “stackable” credential pathways that can be built upon. It introduces the new International Standard Classification of Education, or ISCED, as a tool to create equivalency for academic and occupational training to facilitate stackability.

8. House Bill 1264: Supporting the Educator Workforce (HB 1264)

This bill tasks the Department of Education with creating an online career support and pathways portal for educators that will provide access to career incentives, job postings, and applications, among other things. It is up for discussion in the House Education Committee on March 21. 

9. House Bill 1231: State Funding for Higher Education Projects

This bill provides funding for the University of Northern Colorado’s new Osteopathic Medical College, Metropolitan State’s Health Institute Tower, Colorado State’s Veterinary Health Education Campus, and the expansion and renovation of the main building at Trinidad State College’s Valley Campus. The bill passed through the House Health and Human Services and is up for discussion in the Finance Committee on March 18.