Colorado CTE educators have been doing amazing work to integrate the Colorado Essential Skills into their instruction.

Essential Skills and Postsecondary Workforce Readiness (PWR) Skills/Competencies are two terms used interchangeably. Another one that educators might be familiar with is CCR: Career and College Readiness. Please note that in Colorado, we ‘reverse’ the C’s….meaning, we say Career first then College when using the CCR acronym. Majority of neighboring states my differ in saying this acronym and still use College before Career. In Colorado, since we focus on Meaningful Career Conversations (MCCs), ICAPping (Individual Career and Academic Planning) and Career Advisement & Development, we address students and learners career aspirations first prior to advising on college/high education and post high school learning opportunities.

The official working definition of PWR is: Colorado high school graduates demonstrate the knowledge and skills (competencies) needed to succeed in postsecondary settings and to advance in career pathways as lifelong learners and contributing citizens.

​When students engage in PWRful Demonstrations of Learning they:

  • build portfolios of collected and curated artifacts and/or
  • showcase their knowledge, skills, and abilities in a presentation

Explore the PWR Playbook

PWR Skills/Competencies include (* **):

    • Communication: Media Literacy, Digital Literacy, Data Literacy, Interpersonal Communications
    • Problem Solving: Critical Thinking & Analysis, Collaboration & Teamwork, Creativity & Innovation, Adaptability & Flexibility
    • Community Member: Civic engagement, Global & Cultural Awareness, Social Awareness
    • Empowered Individual: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Perseverance & Resilience, Self-Advocacy & Initiative, Career Awareness

*In collaboration and as part of state efforts to develop a Colorado Essential Skills implementation guide, CDE is looking for examples of the integration of the skills into instruction. CDE staff will be reaching out to educators to collect examples of lesson plans, videos, display materials, activities, coaching strategies and any other instructional materials. While this collection is voluntary, resources are needed for all grade levels and content areas. If you’d like to show-off your practices, please submit using this form.

**Note that a revised list will frequently be updated as we respond to the needs of economy, our business, industry, higher education and military partners.

Explore more resources here: We ICAP for PWR | CDE (state.co.us)

**FORTHCOMING: Cluster Based Career Conversation starters for PoWeRful CTE classrooms! (expected July 2025)