A Voter-Approved, Long-Term Investment in Colorado’s Workforce

What Does This Proposed Initiative Do?

This measure creates a permanent, voter-approved fund for debt-free job training in high-demand, essential occupations, without raising taxes.

At the center of the initiative is the Skilled Workers and Trades Fund, a dedicated, long-term source of funding to expand access to short-term, job-aligned training that leads directly to employment in fields where Colorado faces persistent worker shortages.

It does this by fully separating Pinnacol Assurance from the state government, ending its tax subsidies, and reinvesting the resulting revenue directly into Colorado’s workforce through this new fund.

The initiative supports short-term, job-aligned education and credentials that connect Coloradans quickly and directly to employment in fields where Colorado faces persistent worker shortages. The fund is designed to create durable, outcomes-focused investments that can scale what works year after year, beyond annual budget cycles.

Addressing Colorado’s Current Challenges

Colorado’s economy faces a growing mismatch between available jobs and trained workers:

• More than 75% of Colorado jobs require education or training beyond high school, but only about half of working-age adults have a postsecondary credential
• Employers across healthcare, education, skilled trades, construction, and technology report chronic vacancies
• Many Coloradans cannot afford short-term training programs that would qualify them for good-paying jobs
• Rising education costs and the cost-of-living limit access to training and slow economic mobility

The result is a missed opportunity for both workers and employers: unfilled jobs, constrained business growth, and essential community services under strain.

How This Measure Becomes A Long-Term, Self-Sustaining Solution

The initiative establishes the Skilled Workers and Trades Fund, a dedicated funding source to provide tuition-free or low-cost training for essential, in-demand jobs such as:

• Nurses and healthcare workers
• Teachers and early-childhood educators
• Electricians, plumbers, welders, and machinists
• Emergency responders
• Welders and advanced manufacturing professionals
• Advanced and emerging technology professionals

The fund is designed to be business-led and student-centered, with governance that reflects Colorado employers and the workers powering in-demand industries. This helps keep training aligned with real labor-market needs while ensuring the system remains accessible and responsive to working learners. The structure is intended to remain agile by adjusting priority occupations, credentials, and investments as industry needs evolve. It is designed to help Coloradans enter or advance in good-paying careers more quickly and without taking on debt, while strengthening Colorado’s talent pipeline.

What Would Voters Be Deciding On?

1. Full separation of Pinnacol Assurance from the state government

• Pinnacol becomes a fully independent, tax-paying insurance company. It no longer receives direct or indirect state tax subsidies.
• The measure includes provisions that ensure every Colorado business will continue to have access to workers’ compensation benefits.

2. Dedicated funding for workforce training

• A one-time $150 million payment from Pinnacol to launch the Skilled Workers and Trades Fund
• Loss of tax subsidies generates approximately $10 million per year in recurring revenue to support ongoing workforce training

3. Scholarships tied to outcomes

• Funding is limited to evidence-based education and training programs with demonstrated completion and employment outcomes
• Scholarships of up to $3,000 per year for eligible middle- and lower-income Coloradans
• Funding is reimbursed only after learners complete training, ensuring public dollars support results, not promises
• Programs must align with labor-market demand and demonstrate completion and employment outcomes

4. Scale and accountability

• Expected to support approximately 5,000 Coloradans per year once fully implemented
• Public dollars follow results, not enrollment alone, reinforcing accountability and value for voters

Has This Been Done Before?

Yes. Colorado has a long history of dedicating non-tax revenue from state-created assets to public priorities, including:

• Lottery proceeds to protect parks and open space
• Gaming revenue to support community colleges
• Tobacco settlement funds to expand access to healthcare
• Commercial land-use royalties to build schools in rural areas

This initiative follows that same Colorado-tested approach: pairing a specific revenue source with a clearly defined public benefit.

It also builds on proven workforce efforts such as Care Forward Colorado, Career Advance Colorado, Opportunity Now Colorado, and Apprenticeship Colorado—programs that showed strong results when financial barriers to short-term training were removed.

What Are the Next Steps?

• The proposed initiative will move through the Title Board process this winter
• Final language will be set following that review
• The measure is proposed for the November 2026 general election ballot
• If approved by voters, implementation would begin following certification and rulemaking