April 14, 2016 VOLUME 96 | ISSUE 6 | 75¢
EnglewoodHerald.net A R A P A H O E C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
A publication of
PIECING TOGETHER FUN
Colorado workforce demand in focus A special report by Colorado Community Media Staff report
Alayna Liljenquist-Beyer, 6, shows her grandmother, Bev Carey, a piece she was ready to add to the super car she was building as she took part in the April 8 session of Lego Maniac at the Englewood Public Library. The library breaks out a half-dozen large containers of Lego pieces of all kinds for the Lego Maniac event that is held on the second and fourth Saturday of each month. The event is open for kindergartners through fifth-graders. Photo by Tom Munds
Expo is boon for seniors Malley center hosts event that offers helpful information By Tom Munds tmunds@coloradocommunitymedia.com Littleton resident Sheri O’Connor said she enjoyed the free massage and Ann Hastings, who recently moved to Englewood, said she received a lot of good information as the two women were among several hundred people who attended the April 7 Active Aging Expo at the Malley Senior Recreation Center. This is the second year Malley has hosted the event, seeking to bring together organizations that provide services for the senior members of the community. The event attracted more than 50 exhibitors Displays and demonstrations were set up at locations around the senior center. In one area, there were staffed booths offering information about a large variety of subjects including senior recreational opportunities, retirement planning and senior travel. Down the hall, there were a variety Expo continues on Page 16
Anita Carter, left, explains to Linda Kepler the technique she uses in Bunka embroidery. Carter was among those demonstrating crafts at the April 7 Active Aging Expo at the Malley Senior Recreation Center. Photo by Tom Munds
With the fourth-lowest unemployment rate in the nation, 3 percent, Colorado has made mountainous gains when it comes to economic development following the recession that struck in December 2007 and lingered for years. Businesses are flocking to the Centennial State, and Coloradans are finding work. But employers increasingly are finding it difficult to find the right workers to fill their jobs. Metro North Chamber of Commerce President Angela Habben said, at least in her organization’s part of the Denver area, the workforce isn’t meeting the market demand. “Either employers can’t find workers willing to do the job or they INSIDE can’t find prospects with the training required to On pages meet position qualifica6 and 7, we tions,” she said. take a look at Simon Fox, deputy the Colorado director of Business and Ready to Work Funding Initiatives for package, and the Colorado Office of at what is Economic Development being done and International Trade, now to train said the demand is great the workforce for wokers in the fields in the face of information technolof growing ogy and skilled trades. and changing “There aren’t enough demand. welders or carpenters,” he said. Democratic and Repbulican state lawmakers are working together to address this. The 10 bills comprising a bipartisan package called Colorado Ready to Work are making their way through the Legislature. The overriding theme is creating partnerships between the business and education communities, with the goal of developing a workforce that can meet Colorado’s growing and changing demands. For many business leaders, measures like these can’t be passed soon enough, given the massive growth the Denver metro area figures to see in coming years. “That’s a real supply-and-demand dilemma if we don’t act soon,” Habben said.
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
ENGLEWOOD HERALD (ISSN 1058-7837) (USPS 176-680) OFFICE: 2550 S. Main St., Littleton, CO 80120 | PHONE: 303-566-4100 A legal newspaper of general circulation in Englewood, Colorado, the Englewood Herald is published weekly on Thursday by Colorado Community Media, 2550 S. Main St., Littleton, CO 80120. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT LITTLETON, COLORADO and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address change to: 9137 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Suite 210, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 DEADLINES: Display: Thurs. 5 p.m. | Classifieds: Tue. 8 a.m. | Obits: Tue. 11 a.m. | Legals: Thurs. 11 a.m.