By Kylie Parks, Arvada Chamber Director of Talent Pipeline Development
On Tuesday, June 13th, Mile High Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) launched its three-part talent equity series at Social Capitol in Arvada. Arvada Chamber President and CEO, Kami Welch kicked off the event highlighting the importance of businesses stepping up, start thinking about hiring differently, and stop working in silos.
Colorado Workforce Development Council’s (CWDC) Assistant Director of Systems Innovation, Renise Walker, headlined the event and echoed Kami’s opening statements. “If we want to change the problem, we can’t keep doing the same thing,” she said. “There are things out of our control, there is no easy solution. and the talent issue may get worse before it gets better. However, it’s important to act now.”
The event raised some alarming Colorado labor statistics, consolidated into a report by the CWDC, including:
- 68% of business owners said there is a talent problem, yet only 20% said they were willing to do something about it
- Currently, there are 2 jobs for every 1 job seeker
- 70% of the workforce is eliminated by jobs requiring a degree and currently, 76.5% of tier 1 jobs required a bachelor’s degree
- 21% of Colorado New Americans, Coloradans who arrived to the US as immigrants or their children, report being underemployed
A recent Lightcast report also reported the following statistics in the United States:
- An average of 10,000 baby boomers retire on a daily basis
- The population age of 65+ increased by 38% compared to a 2% increase of those under 65
- We are currently experiencing the lowest rate of population growth since the Great Depression
- There is currently a 3.9 million person labor shortage and 4.9 million missing workers. Missing workers include potential workers, experiencing age discrimination, those who lack necessary training, have family responsibilities such as childcare, have health or disability concerns, or lack reliable transportation.
As a business these statistics are overwhelming and it’s hard to know where to start. So what can you do about it? Renise mentioned that if there were zero job qualifications, 164,913,000 people, everyone in the labor force would qualify. Now understandably not all positions can have zero qualifications, however, we can work to build skills of the local workforce and increase opportunities by implementing apprenticeships and on-the-job training. Businesses must work to upskill talent and start becoming a part of the solution and not the problem.
The Arvada Chamber recently announced a $10,000 Work-Based Learning Incentive Program for businesses engaging in Work-Based Learning opportunities.
B.O.L.D. 2026 is a five-year regional economic strength and resiliency initiative of the Arvada Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber developed BOLD 2026 in consultation with private and public sector leaders and partners in Arvada, Jefferson / Adams Counties, Metro Denver and the state of Colorado. One goal of B.O.L.D. 2026 is to grow our talent to meet the needs of employers and job seekers.
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