I’m excited to announce that applications for the Skillful Governor’s Coaching Corps are open! We encourage all eligible* career coaches to apply. 

The eight-month program, which begins in October of this year, will introduce 35 of the best career coaches from across the state to important skills, strategies, and tools to complement the great work they already do in supporting the state’s job seekers, students, and workers.  

As Coloradans struggle to adapt to the demands of a rapidly changing economy, career coaches continue to provide critical support to job seekers and others intent on improving or changing their career pathway. The need for this support is underlined by the fact that, despite the state’s prosperity and historically low unemployment rates, many Coloradans remain unemployed or underemployed in low-wage jobs, even though they have or can learn the skills necessary to flourish in the state’s numerous unfilled positions and growing industries. 

To help address this skills gap, the Corps’ curriculum emphasizes the importance of skills and values in coaches’ work with job seekers, students, and workers. The curriculum includes opportunities for coaches to practice new coaching strategies, leverage digital tools and data resources to improve their guidance, and builds on their leadership skills so they can advocate to improve services. The curriculum allows coaches to better serve Coloradans by helping them understand the skills their clients have, empowering them to build the skills they need, and ultimately connecting them to meaningful, sustainable employment in our changing workforce. 

 In addition to learning valuable strategies to bring a focus on their skills to their work, the coaches will build on the work of the program’s two previous cohorts, addressing some of Colorado’s most pressing workforce issues. Subjects include how to: 

• Prepare coaches for the future of work 
• Serve marginalized populations 
• More effectively help middle-skilled job seekers find rewarding work 
• Promote the adoption of credit for prior learning by higher educations 
• Leverage platforms like LinkedIn to connect employers and job seekers with career coaches 
• Increase awareness of alternative pathways to success outside of, or beyond, a four-year college degree 

 At the end of the program, the Corps will present the results of their research and suggested next steps to state policy makers. 

 The Corps, launched in 2017 with the support of then-Governor John Hickenlooper, enters its third year with the support of the current governor, Jared Polis, who said, “The Skillful Governor’s Coaching Corps is a really important way to help Coloradans, especially those who don’t have a four-year degree, find and secure a great job that utilizes their skills in an ever-changing economy.” 

 Polis’ comment emphasizes how, in today’s rapidly changing digital economy, career coaches will have an increasingly important role in helping Coloradans navigate the evolving workforce landscape, especially as employers continue to struggle to fill their vacant positions while job seekers  

*To apply for the Skillful Governor’s Coaching Corps, you must be a career coach and a Colorado resident. A career coach is anyone working at a nonprofit institution who provides guidance to students, job seekers, or workers about their training and career goals. Career coaches from K-12 education, higher education, workforce development, nonprofits, and other frontline professionals are encouraged to apply. This program is not intended to serve for-profit career, executive and/or life coaches. Applications close September 18, 2019. 

If you’re interested in learning more about the Skillful Governor’s Coaching Corps, register for one of two informational webinars on August 19 and September 4.  

Learn more about the Skillful Governor’s Coaching Corps in this introductory video below released when the program launched in 2017: