$1.6 Million Workforce Development Investment to Put More Chicagoans Back to Work
The city of Chicago has good news for unemployed Chicagoans. That’s because Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced yesterday that the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) will provide up to $1.6 million in funding for worker training and direct placement program assistance to help unemployed Chicago residents obtain positions at companies that contract with O’Hare International Airport.
The program, which will run over the next three years will be administered by Skills for Chicagoland’s Future (SCF), a public-private partnership working to close the skills gap by helping to match businesses that have current, unmet hiring needs with qualified, unemployed job seekers.
The CDA collects damages from contractors who fail to meet Chicago Residency Ordinance requirements. Within that ordinance there is a stipulation that all penalties collected must be used for worker training programs. The $1.6 million dollars allocated for the SCF program were generated from said penalties.
“This $1.6 million investment will provide unemployed Chicago residents with direct job placement and customized training in the skills they need to get back to work in our modern economy,” said Mayor Emanuel. “This model works because it focuses on the current and emerging hiring needs of local businesses in our city. This kind of strategic partnership between public and private sectors is essential for the economic future of Chicago.”
This investment is another example of the City of Chicago’s ongoing commitment to workforce and economic development – from the ongoing efforts to attract and retain companies in Chicago to the work being done in the city’s STEM high schools and in the City Colleges of Chicago through the College to Careers program.
SCF’s focus is to shrink the skills gap in the Chicago area and help employers find qualified, unemployed job seekers to fill available positions. Since launching in September 2012, SCF has helped more than 25 companies fill critical vacancies and has helped place nearly 400 unemployed candidates into local jobs.
“Our program’s success stems from our ability to develop close relationships with area employers, learn their hiring needs and challenges, and put quality, pre-screened candidates directly in front of them quickly and efficiently,” said Marie Trzupek Lynch, president and CEO, Skills for Chicagoland’s Future. “This CDA funding will allow SCF to cover the sourcing and screening costs of direct placement and some of the cost of training programs needed to help companies that do business with O’Hare prepare unemployed Chicago job seekers for available positions.”
SCF’s services are provided at no cost to unemployed job seekers. Employers can contact SCF to assist with recruitment, placement and training efforts related to their skills gap and hiring challenges. Unemployed job seekers in Chicago can apply for jobs or register online at www.scfjobs.com to be included in the SCF database for placement consideration.
The work done by SCF supports and complements the efforts of Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership and City Colleges of Chicago’s College to Careers initiative.
As a public-private partnership, Skills for Chicagoland’s Future is funded by the City of Chicago, the State of Illinois, the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, foundation support and multiple private sector donations, including a lead corporate gift from JP Morgan Chase Foundation.
For more information about SCF, http://www.skillsforchicagolandsfuture.com
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