High-tech ed plan gets go-ahead

Daniel J. Chacón, Rocky Mountain News

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

A coalition of counties around Denver is about to start producing an in-state talent pool for the region's high-tech sectors.

A vote by the Denver City Council on Monday allows the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. to begin implementing a program funded by a three-year, $15 million federal grant to prepare local youth for high-paying but demanding jobs that are expected to expand in the region.

"Over the years, we have been watching what we refer to as the 'Colorado paradox,' " said Tom Clark, executive vice president of EDC, an affiliate of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.

"That's our ability to attract really smart people with really smart kids, but to really struggle educating children who already live here," he said.

The EDC applied for and received the grant, but the city of Denver is acting as the fiscal agent. The counties in the so-called Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development initiative are Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, Jefferson and Larimer.

Clark said there will be a strong link between educational institutions and the private sector on new programs that focus on four "key employment clusters": aerospace, biotechnology, energy, and software development and information technology.

"We know those four job areas are going to be drivers in the Colorado economy for at least the next 25 years, at least for a generation of people," he said. "We have to strategically say, 'Those are places where the greatest opportunity for the best incomes and the greatest job longevity are located for Colorado kids.' "