By Kylie Parks, Arvada Chamber Director of Talent Pipeline Development
Career Hubs have launched at four Jeffco High Schools over the past year through G.R.O.W. (Get Ready for Opportunities to Work) Jeffco efforts developed in collaboration with Jeffco Public Schools and the Arvada Chamber of Commerce. Career Hubs were designed to accomplish a system solution with the equitable engagement of partners across the education-to-employment pipeline. Our collective goal is to implement 20 career hubs across Jeffco to reach 30,000 students and 2,500 employers, year-over-year. This initiative addresses the misalignment of school-to-career preparation and is a critical component of our Talent work in B.O.L.D. 2026.
Last Friday (June 2, 2023), we joined the Jeffco Public Schools Career Links Team, and Career Hub coordinators at Green Mountain, Arvada, Alameda, and Chatfield High Schools to plan for the next school year.
Each school shared successes from this past year, including each establishing Career Hub Coordinators, increasing career panels, internship opportunities, and leveraging the customer relationship management system, Seamless WBL for tracking. Alameda High School has found success with a student advisory committee to gain feedback on their efforts, while Chatfiled and Green Mountain High Schools both had career expo attendance requirements for 10th-grade students.
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The Arvada Chamber team also shared how we can support funding for building out their career hubs and how we are working to engage employers with our programs. Those programs include:
Work-Based Learning
Work-based learning is becoming more popular with employers to expose potential team members to their company and work while also building a talent pipeline. The Work-Based Learning Incentive Program encourages employers to get involved in work-based learning opportunities through reimbursement. Employers now until May 2024 have the opportunity to be reimbursed for work-based learning activities up to $10,000. To learn more about this program please visit www.arvadachamber.org/wblip.
If employers are unsure where to start with work-based learning we have also developed three toolkits to assist in outlining what it may look like for their company: www.arvadachamber.org/WBLtoolkit.
Sector Partnerships (Manufacturing, Construction, IT, Healthcare)
Sector partnerships are partnerships of business leaders, from the same industry and in a shared labor market region, who work with education, workforce development, economic development, and community organizations to address the workforce and other competitiveness needs of their industry.
The Arvada Chamber in partnership with the Jefferson County Business and Workforce Center has so far launched the Metro-West Advanced Manufacturing Alliance, and has plans to launch the Construction Sector Partnership in the upcoming weeks.
Career Coach
We will be launching this platform to all of our stakeholders over the coming weeks. This platform is a universal use system for educators, businesses, and employment seekers. The system perks include quick career assessment to assist employment seekers in identifying the right career pathway for them.
Each team identified action items to work on and improve their career hub. Going forward, we will be regularly meeting as a team to discuss updates and share best practices to continue alignment. Everyone left this meeting enthusiastic of what the next school year holds, and ready to G.R.O.W. Jeffco!
If you are an employer interested in being more engaged with Work-Based Learning and the Jeffco Public Schools, let’s connect! Please book time with me HERE.
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. Learn more about our talent challenges and work here.
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