DENVER – Colorado lawmakers had a bit of a “kumbaya” moment this week in touting bipartisan workforce development measures that aim to help connect Coloradans with jobs.
The news conference Thursday saw Democrats and Republicans hugging each other and sharing smiles during a legislative session that has been overshadowed by several moments of partisan wrangling.
But leaders in both the House and Senate from both sides of the aisle came together in the name of the middle class.
“The Colorado Ready to Work package is something that Republicans and Democrats can get behind,” said House Majority Leader Crisanta Duran, D-Denver. “This issue of being ready to work is not a Republican issue, it’s not a Democratic issue – it’s a Colorado issue.”
“Taxpayers are investing billions of dollars annually in our educational institutions,” said Senate President Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs. “It would be penny wise and pound foolish if we do not invest both our time and some appropriate level of resources in establishing policies and the structures to help these investments pay off for our students.”
pmarcus@durangoherald.com
Workforce development bills
Lawmakers highlighted several pieces of legislation that may help Coloradans find jobs, including:
Creating an internship and apprenticeship program for engineering and research-development careers. Interns would be paid at least $10 per hour, and businesses would be reimbursed up to a half of their expenses, capped at $5,000.
Enabling the Colorado Workforce Development Council to work with various industries in determining which career pathways to design and prioritize in an effort to connect high school students with careers.
Expanding mobile learning lab programs, which send instructors to employers to train workers in skills.
Allowing students to apply course work toward apprenticeship programs and providing scholarships to pay for demanding technology programs.
Extending unemployment benefits to people who are attending skills-training programs.
Better connecting job seekers with already available jobs.
Creating a statewide coordinator to work with the Colorado Workforce Development Council, schools and businesses to help young Coloradans decide on a post-secondary educational path.
Offering income tax credits to employers who hire graduates of Colorado universities who go into the science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines as well as providing student loan assistance to those disciplines.
Creating partnerships with industries to offer a combination of internships, mentoring and courses on information technology.
Authorizing counties to establish workforce development programs to provide financial assistance to their high school graduates who pursue post-secondary education or training, including property tax credits or rebates to local taxpayers who contribute to the fund.
