(1) (a) The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that:

(I) Colorado's economy is diverse and constantly changing and its key industries are dependent on an accurately skilled workforce to continue to thrive;

(II) Colorado's key industry employers continue to lack the skilled workers they need to stay and grow in the state;

(III) Coloradans miss opportunities for good jobs in growing industries because they do not have access to the right education, training, or adequate hands-on experience at the right time to secure employment;

(IV) Providing clear access to industry-driven career pathways for education and employment advancement can result in long-term improvements in the economic well-being of Coloradans and will provide industries with the talent pipeline needed to thrive now and in the future;

(V) Creating a coordinated system to advance the skills and educational attainment of Coloradans across workforce development and education, in alignment with economic development goals, and in partnership with industry is the most promising way to advance Coloradans and supply industry with the talent it demands;

(VI) Deep, authentic, and ongoing employer engagement and input is critical to ensure that education and training programs are aligned with the real and current needs of industry; and

(VII) Sector partnerships are a proven, established model of engaging employers and coordinating workforce development, economic development, and education in response to the needs of industry and on behalf of workers seeking good jobs.

(b) The general assembly further finds, determines, and declares that it will be beneficial to create a working group with the state council comprised of representatives from the relevant state departments and offices to discuss and determine the most effective way to use sector partnerships at the regional level to align workforce development, economic development, and education in the state to the needs of key industries.

(2) The state council, the department of higher education, the department of education, the department of labor and employment, and the Colorado office of economic development shall work collaboratively to:

(a) Discuss and determine needs across key industries and occupations including challenges and opportunities in developing and growing relevant talent pipelines;

(b) Ensure that the talent pipeline development infrastructure includes:

(I) A listening process to collect workforce needs for key industries' employers;

(II) Curriculum alignment for high-demand occupation skill needs;

(III) Occupation-aligned education and training options with a clearly articulated progression;

(IV) Skills assessments; and

(V) Academic career counseling;

(c) Utilize sector partnerships to:

(I) Advise the development of career pathway programs for critical occupations in key industries; and

(II) Ensure the coordination of education and workforce initiatives to develop a strong talent pipeline; and

(d) Utilize existing measures and data systems to improve systems alignment and inter-agency communication.

(3) (a) In doing the work specified in subsection (2) of this section, the state council, in partnership with the department of higher education, the department of education, the department of labor and employment, and the Colorado office of economic development, shall coordinate the production of an annual Colorado talent report. In preparing the annual Colorado talent report, the state council, the departments, and the office may use previously collected data and are not required to collect new data for the purposes of the report. The talent report shall:

(I) Take into consideration the data contained in the annual job skills report produced by the department of higher education and use such data to inform workforce development issues across key industries;

(II) Utilize state-level data generated from state-level sources whenever possible;

(III) Utilize and, as appropriate, expand existing data-sharing agreements between agencies and partners;

(IV) Provide a progress report on the status of career pathway programs targeted at key industries;

(V) Provide an analysis of data regarding the skills required for key industry jobs;

(VI) Include recommendations related to advancing talent pipeline and career pathways development;

(VII) Include recommendations regarding the alignment and consistency of data nomenclature, collection practices, and data-sharing. The recommendations shall not allow the disclosure of the personally identifiable information of a student enrolled in kindergarten or one of grades one through twelve without informed written permission from the student's parent or legal guardian. The recommendations may disclose de-identified, anonymous, or aggregate kindergarten-through-twelfth-grade student data without permission from a parent or legal guardian.

(VIII) Include the report and recommendations from the department of labor and employment regarding pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship in Colorado, prepared as required by section 8-15-101, C.R.S.; and

(IX) Include the report regarding the industry infrastructure grant program, prepared as required by section 24-46.3-405.

(b) The heads of the department of higher education, the department of education, the department of labor and employment, and the Colorado office of economic development shall include the recommendations from the state council, and any comments they may wish to add concerning the recommendations, to the house of representatives and senate committees of reference with jurisdiction over business issues by January 1, 2015. The heads of the departments shall annually present such recommendations and comments during the legislative hearings required pursuant to the "State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act", part 2 of article 7 of title 2, C.R.S.