Denver Gets WIRED Grant

In February, the U.S. Department of Labor awarded $15 million to develop a pipeline of workers for the region’s fastest-growing industries, including aerospace, bioscience, energy, and information technology.

Metro Denver is one of 13 U.S. recipients of the WIRED funds to develop and implement a “transformational” approach to regional economic development. The grants focus on the role of talent development in driving economic competitiveness, increased job growth, and new opportunities for American workers.

Metro Denver’s initial WIRED activities will include an inventory of existing programs to establish what is already in place, an assessment of target-industry workforce needs, and an analysis of existing education gaps that could fill those needs.

The grant will fund new initiatives to fill workforce gaps, while ensuring that changes have long-term and regional impact. “This grant represents cooperation and hard work from city, state, and economic development groups in the nine-county Metro Denver region,” said Tom Clark, Executive Vice President of Metro Denver EDC. “We look forward to taking our regional partnership to the next level, using these funds to expand programs that provide top-notch, high-technology workforce training.”

Learn more here.