A good job and a living wage is the foundation for a good life in Colorado. My vision is to build a Colorado where every resident can choose from a range of affordable, respected pathways to good-paying jobs. Our kids should be able to envision a bright future here in the state where they are raised—a future we can make possible by ensuring Colorado is known for economic opportunity and good jobs.

Today, the promise of a secure and fulfilling livelihood isn’t available for all Coloradans. In Colorado, nearly 4 in 10 households struggle to afford basic needs. Education and training are  gateways to opportunity, and too few Coloradans are acquiring the necessary skills—in high school or beyond—to  qualify for many open jobs that pay a livable wage. Against this backdrop, it’s no surprise that many Coloradans feel left behind—-and that the American Dream feels increasingly out of reach. 

Colorado employers are also struggling to find skilled workers to fuel growth. Workforce shortages in critical sectors are holding back business expansion across the state. At the same time, the flow of new residents from other states has slowed dramatically. And many growing up here are unsure if they can stay here. Without a strong pipeline of skilled, homegrown talent, employers—from healthcare and education to tech to construction trades—will face challenges meeting demand and sustaining growth.

As governor, I will work to build Colorado’s workforce so people can get the training they need to get good-paying jobs. We will ensure that education and training programs offer affordable pathways for learners to gain the skills they need to thrive in high-demand industries and secure good-paying jobs. Achieving this will require collaboration between business, workers, and government—with employers and labor at the table to align talent development with real-world demand. By harnessing data and technology, we can guide students and job seekers to programs that align with their goals and circumstances—and are backed by clear evidence of success.

Colorado builds on a history of workforce innovation, and we will create a win-win for Coloradans and our economy. Together, we can build an economy that offers good-paying and accessible jobs for workers and ensures our kids see a future worth staying for.

Abundant pathways to careers in Colorado

For too long, we sent a message that college is the only path to a good future—that thinking left too many families behind and too many jobs unfilled. Whether through an apprenticeship, certificate, two-year degree, or four-year degree, Coloradans deserve training that leads to good jobs with family-sustaining wages. We’ll invest in and celebrate every route that delivers a real paycheck and a livelihood.

My work as a founding board member of CareerWise demonstrated to me the power of apprenticeships to provide new paths into good jobs. This work can apply across sectors, with notable examples in skilled trades, education, and healthcare:

• Unions and associations in the skilled trades have proven the power of apprenticeships for decades. As an example, the National Electrical Contractors Association (“NECA”) and the Local Union #68 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (“IBEW”) jointly sponsor apprenticeship programs for the electrical industry, training thousands of workers in a high-demand sector with living-wage jobs. 
• CareerWise supported Colorado Mountain College’s fast-growing rural teacher apprenticeship program where participants earn credentials without leaving their community. 
• The Cherry Creek School District, in partnership with the Community College of Aurora, created a similar teacher apprentice pathway through their Aspiring Educator program.
• Several healthcare providers, from large national systems to our critical safety net institutions, launched healthcare apprenticeship programs providing low-cost entry points into clinical careers.

In addition to apprenticeship models, businesses, associations, and nonprofits are investing in successful career exposure and training programs for our youth and adults:

• The Associated General Contractors and Housing & Building Association’s Careers in Construction Colorado (“CICC”) program exposes students to construction careers in nearly 100 high schools across the state.
• CrossPurpose and ActivateWork provide proven pathway programs to support adults moving into new careers and achieving economic mobility.
• Emergent Campus is working in rural parts of Colorado by building innovation hubs with rural-connected startups and opportunities for remote work in a collaborative environment.

I will build on successful programs like these to ensure we have the scale, accessibility, and leadership to expand opportunity across multiple career pathways. That means bringing employers and labor to the table, strengthening the capacity of what’s working, and empowering Coloradans with clear information and outcomes data—so they can discover, trust, and participate in programs that lead to real results.

A Colorado Earn-and-Learn Promise

To build on our momentum and fight for a sustainable future for all Coloradans, I will champion a “Colorado Earn-and-Learn Promise”. Earn-and-learn programs allow individuals to gain paid work experience while building valuable skills or credentials—leading to high completion and job placement rates. My vision is that every Coloradan has access to a living-wage job through various earn-and-learn programs supported by the state, our education institutions, nonprofit partners, and our collaborative business and labor communities. 

The Colorado Earn-and-Learn Promise will be powered by a diverse set of policies and programs I will champion as governor:

• ColoradoCorps: I will launch a service program for young Coloradans that provides service-based work pathways into high-demand fields, such as teaching, law enforcement, firefighting, nursing, and counseling. This program is a long-term investment in the resilience of Colorado’s workforce, our youth, and our civic fabric.
• Expand the statewide “Colorado Pay-It-Forward Fund”: I will expand Colorado’s program to offer zero-interest loans and living stipends for high-ROI training—including earn-and-learn programs. Graduates—and often their employers—will repay principal only after earnings pass a set threshold. This shifts risk off learners and requires programs to keep a high bar for outcomes.
• Support for school districts to successfully implement H.B. 24-1364: a new law guiding the state to empower all high school students with access to work-based learning, employer-validated credentials, or college credit before they graduate. To fulfill the promise of this career and college-connected learning, we must provide capacity, partnership, and resources to the high schools that will ultimately lead the charge for implementation.
• Expanded investment & employer capacity for earn-and-learn programs: Earn-and-learn only works if employers are active partners. I’ll work to create an investment fund to expand employer capacity and provide incentives for more businesses to offer these training opportunities. To bolster this investment, the state must act as a true partner—streamlining processes and removing administrative barriers that make it harder for businesses and workers to participate.

Our Public Community Colleges and Universities as Launchpads to Careers

Today, over 95% of top jobs require some credential or training beyond high school. We must ensure our public colleges and universities are accessible, affordable, and high-quality launchpads to those good jobs. The Colorado Community College System (“CCCS”) recognized this and recently launched a new strategic plan for all 13 CCCS colleges naming economic mobility as its north star—prioritizing student job placement as top priority in all program pathways. 

Underscoring this mandate, businesses need trained, work-ready talent. The Colorado Paradox is ending: Colorado has long relied on imported talent to meet certain workforce needs, but in‑migration has fallen sharply. According to the U.S. Census, from 2020-2025, net domestic migration averaged just 6,645 people a year, 16% of the 2010s pace. We must do better to ensure our education institutions are adequately preparing Colorado learners to be the workforce engine for Colorado companies.

CCCS is a model example of an engine for training and economic prosperity at scale. The system serves over 125,000 students annually and is central to preparing Coloradans for successful careers. CCCS also enrolls the highest concentration of lower income, first-generation, and working learners.

As the economy changes, our state’s academic programs must adapt to support new professional paths, skill demand from employers, and regional needs. Multiple community college presidents are already exemplifying an agile approach to offerings. Some are reviewing student job placement and wage outcomes as determinants of program renewal and development. Many are forging new business partnerships to ensure graduates have responsive programs that lead to high-quality jobs.

As governor, I will partner with Colorado’s community colleges and universities on a statewide challenge to highlight leading programs aligned with workforce needs. The state must call on every postsecondary institution to review and identify opportunities to align programs with high-quality job opportunities. As a state, we will work with partners to offer transition grants, technical assistance, and incentives to help colleges conduct labor market analyses, sunset low-wage or low-demand programs, and create new, employer-informed pathways. In short, we must make sure we are training workers for today’s and tomorrow’s job opportunities such as healthcare, construction trades, renewable energy, quantum computing, and technology.

To offer the highest value for students and families, we must also shine a light on program outcomes. Tax dollars spent on education should translate into clear opportunities, and students deserve transparent information about which programs lead to good careers and family-sustaining wages. As governor, I will accelerate work and investment in the data systems and infrastructure needed to publish these outcomes in a way that is accessible, easy to understand, and actionable—helping Coloradans make informed choices about the pathways that are right for them.

Addressing the Rapid Growth of AI in the Workforce

Our economy and the very nature of many jobs is evolving quickly. As governor, I’ll help navigate the state through this period of  transformation—understanding that while AI can pose risks—that we can and should address particularly for our children and workers—it presents compelling opportunities too. 

While others wait to see how AI shakes out, Colorado will lead responsibly. I will sign an executive order creating a team to focus on the opportunities and risks of AI led by employers, workers, and AI experts. This team will work across the state government and with business and education partners to define “AI readiness” for our workforce. As AI tools and use cases progress, we will identify and scale solutions that put our workers and businesses ahead of the curve. The group will gather inputs from national examples, leading AI thought leaders, and Colorado’s tech employers. 

And, as governor, I’ll ensure that we develop AI literacy and support school districts, education institutions, and training programs working to meet this challenge. Together, we’ll make sure every Colorado student graduates fluent in tomorrow’s technology—ready to ethically shape the future.

Restarting the State’s Relationship with the Labor and Business Communities as Partners to Drive Prosperity

In the coming years, we have much to address on the workforce front: we must solve our teacher and nursing shortages to restore the foundation of our care economy; we must dramatically increase the supply of talent with security clearances to fuel our aerospace and defense sector; we need more workers to help us keep up with construction demand, especially to keep pace with housing demand; and, we must support workers displaced through federal workforce cuts and industry shifts.

For Colorado to be successful in the 21st century, we must build a first class workforce development system. That system must be built with the business community, labor, and educational institutions as full partners. All must be prepared to invest in talent and have a seat at the table to help us design and implement a successful talent system for Colorado.

In terms of understanding our future needs, I am committed to building collaborative forums that invite business and labor leaders to the table to help solve our challenges. 

It is critical that we be responsive to the talent needs of Colorado—both current ones and future ones—and build solutions that can be implemented in partnership with business, labor, and educational institutions.

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As governor, I will fight for the next generation of workers in this state—-ensuring every young person in Colorado has a clear pathway to a secure and fulfilling future. Colorado has the ingredients to make this vision real: a creative and collaborative business and worker community, postsecondary partners dedicated to economic mobility, and leaders across the state committed to expanding affordable pathways to good jobs. Together, we can create an economy that delivers opportunity for today’s workers and businesses and an inspiring career launchpad for the next generation.