Last week I met with three incredible women working on education efforts that will certainly impact our future workforce. Their work spans the educational pipeline—from preschool to college and career readiness. We discussed why the business community should take note of their work.
And, we recorded the conversation for our first every podcast, called On the Job. (You know I’ve always wanted my own talk show and this was fun—look out Oprah!)
I spoke with Denver Preschool Program CEO Jennifer Landrum, Colorado Succeeds Vice President of Strategy and Communications Kristina Saccone and Manchester Bidwell Corporation replication convener Lorii Rabinowitz. Each organization is doing its part to build Colorado’s future workforce. Even though they all have different focus areas, we agreed there is no silver bullet when it comes to better preparing our kids for the future. It’s going to take all of us working together across business, nonprofit and government sectors to achieve the educational outcomes we want to see. I hope you will take the time to listen to our discussion in the upcoming issue of Business Altitude and learn more about the work these three organizations are doing to make Colorado the most competitive region out there.
The very same week I toured the Emily Griffith Technical College at one of its three new campuses (now at 1869 Lincoln St. and 1201 Osage St. in addition to its 1261 Glenarm Place location). I saw the same passion and mindset at work to prepare its students for careers. The college has been focused on this work for almost 100 years—it was founded by Emily Griffith, whose vision was to build a school, “for all who wish to learn … to expand their horizons and chart their own course for success.” Now that’s leadership—her vision is still compelling after 100 years.
The school provides GED programs, apprenticeship opportunities, technical certifications and English as a second language courses. And, no person will be turned away from these opportunities because of their ability to pay. But here’s the really impressive part—their completion rate is 74 percent, and among some programs like welding, culinary and health sciences it’s anywhere from 95 to 100 percent. Those are strong numbers for any higher education institution, but the college has a goal to drive those numbers even higher.
Here’s what we know at the Chamber: nothing has the ability to impact a family like a good job. And, the majority of our workforce needs more education than high school to access those good jobs. The return for graduates is still good too: high school graduates on average earn $17,500 per year less than those with college degrees. In fact, that wage differential is growing. Today’s high school graduates earn just 62 percent of what a college graduate earns, but in 1979 they were doing better—earning 77 percent.
In Colorado, no matter what industry you are working in, a good education is a business we are all in. We can’t afford not to be engaged in building the future workforce as we work to drive our economy forward.
Kelly Brough is president and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.
[Photo credit: Alejandro Escamilla]
