Overview

The Colorado Wage Outcomes Results Coalition (CO WORC) is an initiative designed to help workforce development programs better understand the outcomes of their participants after program completion through an interactive dashboard.

The first version of the dashboard launched in summer 2025, with updates planned for summer 2026 as new data are collected. The dashboard highlights the value of linking education, workforce, and employment data to provide evidence on how training programs affect long-term economic outcomes.

The WORC Dashboard allows users to explore participant outcomes across three key areas:

• Earnings
  • Links workforce program records with payroll data collected by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) through the Linked Information Network of Colorado (LINC), a secure data integration service.
  • Earnings data track average and median wages from 8 quarters before a program begins to 12 quarters after completion, adjusted for inflation.
• Industry of employment
  • Industry data show the types of employers and sectors where participants are hired, including transitions between industries over time.
• Demographics.
  • Demographic data provide insight into the characteristics of program participants.

Background

Workforce training programs in Colorado increasingly want reliable evidence on what happens to people after they complete their programs, specifically in terms of employment and earnings. Stakeholders like training providers, funders, and policymakers lacked systematic access to that data and provide evidence of program outcomes.

The initiative was spurred by policy developments: Colorado passed House Bill 24-1364, which authorized and funded the development of a centralized longitudinal data system to measure earnings of learners after participation in workforce programs. WORC serves as a proof of concept of that effort.

Partners

• Colorado Equitable Economic Mobility Initiative (CEEMI)
• Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab (Colorado Lab), University of Denver
• Linked Information Network of Colorado (LINC)
• Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE)
• Training providers in the first cohort:
  • ActivateWork
  • Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO)
  • CrossPurpose
  • The Master’s Apprentice
  • Mile High WorkShop
  • Women’s Bean Project

Funding

• Anschutz Foundation
• Gates Family Foundation
• Prosperity Denver Fund
• Rose Foundation

Resources

Colorado Evaluation & Action Lab. (2023). Workforce development evidence-building hub. University of Denver. https://coloradolab.org/resources/workforce-development-evidence-building-hub/

Colorado Evaluation & Action Lab. (2025, September 17). New dashboard tracks the effectiveness of Colorado career training programs. University of Denver. https://coloradolab.org/2025/09/17/new-dashboard-tracks-the-effectiveness-of-colorado-career-training-programs/

Colorado Wage Outcomes Results Coalition (WORC). (2025). WORC dashboard overview [PDF]. University of Denver. https://itableau.du.edu/views/WORC_Dashboard/1_Introduction

Linked Information Network of Colorado. (n.d.). About LINC. https://www.lincolorado.org/