Aligned Visions: Colorado Thrives and Jobs for the Future
In March, Colorado Thrives CEO Christine Heitz joined Governor Polis and Jobs for the Future CEO Maria Flynn for a conversation about employer-focused solutions that drive workforce development in the state of Colorado.
Colorado Thrives and Jobs for the Future (JFF) represent two organizations with complementary visions for workforce development and economic mobility, though they operate at different scales and through different approaches.
Colorado Thrives: Vision 2030
Colorado Thrives, a coalition of CEOs and business leaders from Colorado’s leading employers, has established an ambitious goal to upskill or place 30,000 Coloradans into good jobs by 2030. This employer-led initiative addresses a critical reality in Colorado—while talent exists throughout the state, opportunity remains unevenly distributed, with 1 in 4 households living below self-sufficiency despite most Coloradans working full-time.
Colorado Thrives’ strategy hinges on an employer-powered approach that:
- Prioritizes communicating job demand and skill requirements
- Reduces unnecessary degree and experience barriers
- Cultivates high-quality education and training partnerships
- Measures outcomes to scale successful strategies
“The work to prepare Coloradans with skills, credentials, and career exposure is meaningful when it’s connected to a real opportunity–a real job–at the end of a journey,” notes Heitz. “The work at Colorado Thrives feels different because CEOs and their teams are rolling up their sleeves to create opportunities and make job paths very tangible.”
Colorado Thrives’ work has started with work across industries and roles including business operations, healthcare, outdoor recreation, skilled trades, and quantum technology—all areas critical to Colorado’s economic future.
Jobs For the Future: North Star Goal
On a national scale, JFF has established its North Star goal: helping 75 million people facing barriers advance into quality jobs by 2033. This ambitious target reflects JFF’s commitment to transforming U.S. education and workforce systems to drive economic success for people, businesses, and communities.
JFF works at the intersection of education, workforce, and economic systems, with particular focus on eliminating barriers and expanding opportunities for all, including: people without a 4-year college degree; people of color, even those with a 4-year degree; women, even those with a 4-year degree; and people with criminal records.
“I’m consistently inspired by states like Colorado, where partners are innovating workforce solutions that meet the evolving needs of employers and create high-quality pathways to jobs that offer good wages and opportunities for growth,” said Maria Flynn, president and CEO of JFF. “We look forward to continued collaboration and vision-sharing with Colorado Thrives.”
Where Our Work Aligns
While operating at different scales, Colorado Thrives and JFF share complementary objectives:
- Employer-Led Solutions: Both recognize employers as critical drivers of workforce development
- Skills-Based Focus: Each prioritizes skills over credentials when appropriate
- Measurable Outcomes: Both organizations commit to tracking and sharing progress
- Economic Mobility: Each organization focuses on creating pathways to economic self-sufficiency
- Systems Change: Both aim to address systemic inefficiencies in connecting talent to opportunity
These aligned visions suggest natural opportunities for learning and collaboration, with Colorado Thrives providing a state-level model that could inform JFF’s national work, while JFF’s broader perspective can offer insights to strengthen Colorado’s approach.
Together, these complementary goals represent a growing recognition that workforce development must be reimagined to create more inclusive economic opportunity.
