Note: For Phase 3, grants are for the expansion of existing partnerships and workforce development programs that have demonstrated outcomes in job placement, career advancement, and wage gains for Coloradans in the specified sectors. This resource blog provides best practices to help prospective applicants determine program alignment with Phase 3.
Overview
Opportunity Now focuses on scaling effective partnerships between industry and education for job placement and advancement outcomes. For Phase 3, applicants are encouraged to demonstrate employer leadership and engagement throughout the implementation phases. The following resources will help industry partners lead strong programs and models to expand capacity for a sustainable talent pipeline of skilled workers for programs operating in the infrastructure, health care, education, and/or early childhood education sectors, or the behavioral health sector.
What is an Industry Partner?
An industry partner is an organization that works in or represents the program or model’s target industry. The industry partner may also be an end employer for job placement/advancement. Industry partners may come from any industry and may be nonprofit, for-profit, or governmental organizations.
The strongest industry partners are involved in all aspects of an Opportunity Now solution, including contributing resources like in-kind donations and dedicated personnel to directly hiring, placing, and advancing program participants.
If your organization fits the above definition with existing programs, we encourage you to consider an application as an industry-led partnership! Industry-led partnerships are more likely to have insight into employment demands and to be able to create job placement and advancement outcomes at scale.
Impact Employers
Jobs for the Future (JFF) defines “Impact Employers” as employers who take a fundamentally different approach to attracting, developing, and retaining talent, starting with the prioritization of employee needs. JFF’s Impact Employer Model highlights six levers employers can engage to create transformative workforce solutions:
- Corporate culture
- Workforce planning
- Talent acquisition
- Talent development
- Total rewards
- Offboarding
Industry Partnerships
The National Fund for Workforce Solutions (National Fund) defines an industry partnership as a “dynamic collaboration of a regional group of employers that convene regularly with the assistance of a workforce intermediary.” Employers play a central role in some of the most effective partnerships.
The National Fund published the Toolkit for Developing High-Performing Industry Partnerships to help industry partners grow and improve effective partnerships that create impactful talent outcomes.
In addition, the Colorado Workforce Development Council (CWDC) provides many helpful resources for those interested in growing sector partnerships, including their Final Evaluation Report, which highlights learnings and recommendations from the sector partnership landscape.
Training, Education, and/or Community Partners
Industry partners need to partner with training, education, and/or community partners in order to reap the following benefits, inspired by Brightspot Strategy’s guide:
- Grow human capital pipelines. Training/education partners can provide a valuable talent pipeline of skilled workers for industry. In addition, internships and apprenticeship opportunities can be a low-risk way of assessing role and organizational fit.
- Utilize best practices and tested approaches to training workers. Partnerships with training/education partners can create valuable, proven outcomes for workers.
- Capitalize on trusted credentials with reputational benefits. Partnerships with reputable institutions can bring credibility and prestige to a program or model. They can also lead to new publications and increased exposure.
- Extend operational capacity. Training/education partners can provide operational benefits such as reduced risk, increased agility within their domains of expertise, and cross-discipline and cross-region collaboration. They may also be able to provide or share wraparound supports, such as access to coaches and transportation benefits to help workers succeed in the program.
Additional Resources
Employer-Led Solutions
Industry & Sector Partnerships