Colorado’s competitiveness depends on an education and workforce system that prepares learners for the demands of a rapidly changing economy. Yet too many students face fragmented pathways, families lack clear information about opportunities, and employers struggle to find skilled, local talent. These are not isolated challenges. They are signs of a system that must work better for learners and for Colorado’s future.
Whether advancing policy or activating employer-led solutions, our vision remains clear: ensure all Colorado learners are educated to their greatest potential, and all Colorado businesses have the talented and innovative homegrown workforce they need to thrive.
Recent legislative momentum and increasing collaboration among employers, educators, and workforce partners have created the critical opening to accelerate progress. In 2026, Colorado Succeeds will concentrate on three levers to create lasting change:
Expand high-quality career pathways that deliver opportunity and mobility for Colorado’s learners.
Catalyze business leadership to strengthen education-to-employment pathways.
Activate state data to improve policy and learner outcomes.
Goal 1: Expand high-quality career pathways that deliver opportunity and mobility for Colorado’s learners.
Colorado has a pivotal opportunity to strengthen pathways that truly prepare learners for what comes next. Policies passed in recent years created the foundation, and 2026 is about scaling these experiences for students. High-quality pathways must ensure that every learner has access to the Big Three: college credit, credentials of value, and work-based learning. These experiences need to be accessible, meaningful, and connected to real opportunity validated by employers. Achieving this will require alignment across K-12 systems, higher education, training, employers, and state partners.
Our Priorities
- Support statewide implementation of the Big Three so students graduate with learning that counts and leads to postsecondary and career success.
- Advance higher education policies that ensure credit is transferable, relevant, and aligned with industry needs.
- Strengthen impact by supporting districts and partners as they expand high-quality pathways that open doors for more students.
Why it Matters
Learners deserve clear and connected pathways that help them make progress, and employers need a strong talent pipeline. Improving how learning is recognized, applied, and aligned across education and industry strengthens opportunity for students and supports Colorado’s long-term workforce needs.
A New Ballot Initiative to Secure Colorado’s Workforce and Economic Future
Colorado Succeeds recently filed a statewide ballot initiative to expand access to short-term, job-aligned training and help more Coloradans move into good, living-wage careers. The proposal would establish the Skilled Workers and Trades Fund, a voter-approved, permanent investment supporting approximately 5,000 learners each year in high-demand fields like healthcare, construction, skilled trades, and teaching.
Designed to be business-led, outcomes-focused, and funded without raising taxes, this initiative builds on what already works in Colorado and aligns education and training with real labor market demand.
Read more about the ballot initiative and its impact on Colorado’s workforce →
Goal 2: Catalyze business leadership to strengthen education-to-employment pathways in Colorado
Our state cannot build a competitive talent system without strong employer leadership. When business sets the direction and education and training partners align to real demand, pathways become clearer, programs become more relevant, and learners gain access to opportunities that lead to good jobs. In 2026, Colorado Succeeds will expand this employer-driven approach across regions and industries, equipping leaders with the tools, data, and partnership structures they need to design and sustain talent strategies that respond to Colorado’s economy.
Our Priorities
- Connect business leaders across the state to learn, problem solve, and align on talent strategy work that moves from conversation to coordinated action.
- Lead and expand employer-led collaboratives that use labor market demand to shape pathways, close skills gaps, and strengthen regional and sector-based strategies.
Why it Matters
Employers know the skills and roles that drive Colorado’s growth. Their leadership helps learners transition into meaningful careers and ensures businesses have the talent they need to thrive.
Colorado’s Engine for Employer-Led Talent Strategy
Colorado Succeeds brings the full strength of the business community to design and scale employer-led talent strategies that work. By convening employers, translating real-time labor-market demand into pathway design, and building the capabilities needed to sustain employer leadership, we are helping Colorado move from fragmented programs to coordinated, statewide talent systems.
This work is grounded in a simple truth: Colorado doesn’t have a talent shortage. It has a system design challenge. Employer leadership is the fastest, most effective way to build employer-validated hiring needs, align talent providers to train learners to those needs, and ensure our education-to-employment system is expanding opportunities for learners across the state.
Explore how Colorado Succeeds leads employer-driven talent strategy statewide →
Goal 3: Activate state data to improve policy and learner outcomes
Colorado’s progress depends on data that clearly shows how learners are doing and which programs deliver results. As the state continues its work on the Statewide Longitudinal Data System, 2026 offers an important opportunity to ensure outcomes data is clearer and more connected to decision making. When data is integrated and accessible, policymakers, families, and employers can better understand what works and invest in programs that deliver results.
Our Priorities
- Support state, regional, and local efforts to make education and workforce data clearer and easier for leaders and families to understand.
- Elevate existing data to highlight programs, providers, and best practices that are improving outcomes for students across Colorado.
Why it Matters
Clear and connected data helps leaders understand what drives strong results for learners and for employers. Better information leads to smarter decisions that strengthen opportunity and Colorado’s talent pipeline.
Looking Ahead
Colorado Succeeds’ 2026 priorities reflect our belief that every learner deserves pathways that lead to real opportunity, and that aligned policy, business leadership, and data-driven decision-making create stronger outcomes for learners, communities, and the state. We look forward to partnering with leaders across Colorado to ensure the education-to-employment system delivers on its promise for learners and business.
Header photo by Allison Shelley/Complete College Photo Library