Overview of This Effort
The Rocky Mountain Partnership (RMP) is working to ensure that existing career pathways beginning in K-12 are streamlined and extended after learners leave K-12, into credentialing and all the way to employment, and learners have the supports they need to stay on these pathways.
The Problem We’re Working to Address
In our region, only 38% of community members in this region have an associate’s or higher. When we dive deeper into data around credential and skill attainment, there are clear equity gaps that exist.
69% of Hispanic / Latino/a/x community members have a high school diploma or higher | compared to 96% of white community members |
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11% of Hispanic / Latino/a/x community members have a Bachelor’s degree or higher | compared to 38% of white community members |
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Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table s1501 Educational Attainment. This data does not include community members who hold a certificate or credential, a data set not yet consistently tracked and available. RMP Region data includes Adams County & the City and County of Broomfield. The U.S. Census Bureau does not provide associate’s degree or higher data by race/ethnicity.
And only 69% of community members in this region are employed. When we dive deeper into this data, similar equity gaps exist as well:
In Adams County, 67% of Hispanic / Latino/a/x community members are employed | compared to 69% of white community members |
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73% of community members without post-high school training or credentialing are employed | compared to 85% of community members with some level of post high-school training or credentialing |
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Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table s2301 Employment Status. RMP Region data includes Adams County & the City and County of Broomfield. Data for Hispanic / Latino/a/x community members is not available for the City and County of Broomfield due to small population size.
This effort is working to close these equity gaps by clearing pathways to Top Jobs. Community members who obtain post-high-school skills and credentials are more likely to meet the talent requirements needed to enter Top Jobs, and have a higher lifetime earnings potential.
“Strategies to ensure all Coloradans receive the education and training they need to successfully participate in the labor force will be pivotal over the next 30 years.”
Source: “2021 Colorado Talent Pipeline Report,” Colorado Workforce Development Council
More About The Effort
Partners are working together to ensure clear pathways to Top Jobs are in place from cradle to career by:
- Streamlining existing pathways that begin in K-12 and extend through graduation, credentialing, and employment in Top Jobs
- Ensuring support services are in place to help learners stay engaged on pathways (for example: access to basic needs)
- Developing additional pathways to Top Jobs that do not already exist in this region
This effort aims to close equity gaps in credential and skill attainment and other critical skills gaps amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic that are contributing to labor shortages in critical industries and impacting the economy longer-term.
What Will Be Accomplished By the End of 2022
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3 School Districts will improve credentialing pathways that currently exist and extend them beyond graduation all the way into employment in Top Jobs (including how barriers will be removed for learners to be successful) alongside credential providers, employers, and learners themselves |
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Increase number of learners engaged on pathways to Top Jobs |
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Increase number of Pathways to Top Jobs available in the region (will continue in 2023) |
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Increase funding to support school districts to have additional revenue for Career and Technical Education related efforts (will continue into 2023) |
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Learn More
Learn more about this effort, including our data and targets, our action underway in 2022 and beyond, and who’s involved, by clicking on the links in the left sidebar.
Click on the button below to see frequently asked questions about this effort.
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Matt Horn, RMP Director of Collaborative Action, serves as the Project Manager for this effort. Contact Matt at MattHorn@RMPBackbone.org with additional questions or to learn more. |