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DENVER (KDVR) — Workforce Development Month is underway in Colorado, and it could not have arrived at a more fitting time as unemployment benefits established during the pandemic near their expiration date. 

Denver Workforce Services offers job-finding help year-round, and now its “Success Works Here-Workforce Development Month” aims to boost job seekers’ ability to land a career that is recession proof. 

The passing of 53 bills, heralded by Gov. Polis during the 2021 legislative session, have accelerated the recovery process following a 2020 highlighted with economic strife. 

Amongst those bills sits HB21-1264, a stimulus injection of $191 million for “workforce development to support Colorado building back stronger,” according to the governor’s home page. 

“Local employers continue to struggle amid a challenging talent scarcity, while our unemployed and underemployed residents seek job stability, higher wages, more flexibility, and benefits,” said Tony Anderson, director of Denver Workforce Services. 

A prominent focus of the free programs offered by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment is to help the job-seeking pool better adjust to an ever-changing job market. 

These changes include automation, changes in technology, the implementation of artificial intelligence and globalization.  

Every Wednesday during September, virtual briefings touching on career paths in construction, health care and I.T. fields are also available. 

“The economic losses from COVID-19 heightened the opportunity and access gaps that lower-income workers face, making the need for immediate workforce services more critical than ever,” said Anderson when touching on the importance of acting now. 

Other offerings of the month-long effort include workshops for veterans, immigrants, refugees, and other adults. 

Another offer from CDLE is the community re-entry support program aimed at helping those who are exiting the justice system return to the job market and how best to adjust to life on the outside.  

Job hunters can sign up for any of these events and free workforce programs, both virtual and in person, that best fit your goals and schedule here.

All that stands between jobseekers and their first step onto a new path is a visit to www.denvergov.org/workforce, an email to workforce.development@denver.org or a phone call to (720) 337-9675.