REGIONAL ROUNDTABLES

The Career-Connected L/Earning Conference will feature Regional Talent Roundtables that elevate and strengthen the regional workforce planning and cross-sector collaboration already underway across Colorado. Anchored around the seven Regional Talent Summit regions established through OEDIT's Opportunity Now initiative, these facilitated discussions will bring together workforce boards, community colleges, four-year institutions, employers, K-12 education, nonprofits, economic development organizations, and other regional partners to deepen regional collaboration and accelerate implementation of shared workforce priorities.

Each Regional Talent Roundtable will include representatives from higher education, workforce development, K-12 education, employers, economic development, and community organizations, creating a balanced cross-sector conversation focused on advancing regional talent strategies. Participants will discuss emerging opportunities and challenges, exchange promising practices, and strengthen relationships across sectors. The conversations will build on, rather than duplicate, the planning and implementation work already taking place throughout the state while creating new connections that support continued regional and statewide progress.

To ensure strong regional leadership, the Colorado Department of Higher Education, the Colorado Community College System, and the Rocky Mountain Workforce Development Association will work together to identify and engage higher education and workforce leaders from each region to facilitate the roundtables. CDHE will engage four-year institutions, CCCS will coordinate participation from its community colleges, and RMWDA will coordinate participation from local workforce boards and workforce directors.

The regional leaders recruited through these partnerships will facilitate the roundtable discussions, engage participants in conversation about priorities and implementation, and identify opportunities for continued collaboration. Where appropriate, these leaders may include members of the Regional Action Teams that are advancing implementation of the plans through 2030.

The Colorado Workforce Development Council and the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade will help plan and design the roundtables to align the conversations with statewide priorities related to talent development, workforce strategy, industry engagement, and economic development. Their involvement in the planning process will connect regional discussions to broader statewide initiatives and ensure that employer, workforce, education, and economic development perspectives shape the roundtable structure. The Regional Talent Roundtables will broaden regional engagement by bringing additional partners into the conversation, strengthening cross-sector relationships, and identifying opportunities to support implementation as Colorado advances its regional talent strategies.