U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer visited Denver on May 7 as part of her America at Work Tour. She met with leaders from the Western States Regional Council of Carpenters and the Southwest Mountain States Carpenters Training Fund at an apprentice training facility. The meeting provided insight into workforce development programs and the training of over 11,000 apprentices across 12 states.
Secretary Chavez-DeRemer also engaged in discussions with CareerWise USA, a nonprofit focused on youth apprenticeships, along with Pinnacol Assurance and Intertech Plastics, which are among several companies partnering with CareerWise to employ apprentices.
"As the Labor Department continues our efforts to meet President Trump’s goal of one million new active apprentices, it is essential to connect with the organizations that are successfully advancing workforce development in their communities," Secretary Chavez-DeRemer stated. "The partnerships I learned about demonstrate the importance of collaboration to build a strong, resilient workforce, which is especially important as this Administration advances America First policies to bring jobs back to the U.S. I’ll continue moving forward with commonsense policies to ensure every worker, regardless of their background, has the skills they need to succeed."
On the same day, she attended the Colorado Business Roundtable's "Future of Work: Looking Around Corners" conference. The discussion addressed future work trends and emerging industries like artificial intelligence. Participants highlighted President Trump's Executive Order on preparing Americans for high-paying skilled trade jobs and emphasized apprenticeships' role in meeting regional workforce needs.
Colorado was Secretary Chavez-DeRemer's seventh stop on her nationwide tour launched in early April. Her aim is to gather feedback from union leaders, business owners, educators, local officials, and workers for policymaking in Washington.
