Tune in for a conversation with George Wright, as he reflects on his first 90 days as CEO of the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership (The Partnership). George reveals his top goals for The Partnership and discusses the moments that have stood out to him in his first 90 days as CEO. He also shares his personal journey and how the timeless values he learned from his parents inform his leadership approach. 

Meet Partnership staff who have found the magic sauce: they have fulfilling careers informed by their experiences and it’s their job to help you find yours. Host Trina Whatley and guests Michael Cannon, Cynthia Rodriguez, and Joshua Williams discuss the programs that they lead and how they connect with the communities that they serve. Tune into this end-of-the-year episode of The Partnership’s Hire Frequency podcast! 

In this special episode of Hire Frequency, Susan Massel, of The Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, brings a microphone to hiring fairs in suburban Cook County. The Partnership is working with agencies in its network to host events all around the suburbs, funded by Cook County, from Elk Grove Village to Skokie to Chicago Heights and Cicero. Tune in to hear voices of individuals looking to take the next step in their careers, employers and suburban Cook County elected officials throughout June and July 2022.

 In this special episode of Hire Frequency, Susan Massell, Chief of Communications and External Affairs at the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, brough a microphone to a series of large and small job fairs in suburban Cook County. The Partnership has worked with agencies in their network to host fairs all around the suburbs, from Elk Grove Village to Skokie to Chicago Heights and Cicero. Tune in to hear voices of suburban Cook County elected officials, employers and individuals looking to take the next step in their careers, throughout June and July 2022.

The Partnership celebrated Women’s History Month 2022 with guest speakers Illinois State Toll Highway Authority’s Chief of Diversity and Strategic Development Terry Miller, and three tradeswomen who benefitted from the Illinois Tollway’s investment in ConstructionWorks, an important program designed to link job seekers with opportunities for rewarding careers in Illinois’ transportation-related construction industry, Fatima Perez, Taneen Ball, and Susana Dominquez. Symbol Training Institute’s Founder and Executive Director Diana Peters also joined us along with Symbol Training Institute graduate trainee Dinora Navare. Join us as we uplift women in roles in sectors that many of us couldn’t have imagined only a few years ago. Hear firsthand about the challenges faced and be inspired by these experiences discussed in candid conversation! 

Join host Natasha Vinson, The Partnership’s Construction Initiatives Program Coordinator, for a discussion about diversity and inclusion in the high-growth, high-demand skilled trades sector with guest speakers: Orlando Bandoo, a skilled tradesman from Walsh Fluor Construction, Lawrence Davis, a 1st Year Apprentice Carpenter from ConstructionWorks, Jurea Crudup, owner of Crudup Construction, Juan Pablo Prieto, the Director of Diversity Programs and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Liaison Officer for the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), and Shoshiwa Shields, Manager of Construction Initiatives at The Partnership. 

Black Americans and people of color have traditionally been excluded from the skilled trades, a sector that includes welders, plumbers, carpenters, and more. These first-hand accounts of barriers those who work in the sector face and the effort of some regional employers to remove those challenges combine to create an honest and vital dialogue during Black History Month. 

https://www.transitchicago.com/rpm/ 

https://chicookworks.org/initiatives/constructioninitiatives/  

The Chicago COVID Community Response Corps is a story of a unique collaboration of workforce development and public health in our region. Join Partnership COVID-19 Response Project Director Claudia Cattouse-Regalado as she sits down with Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady and Corps Members Cornelius Chandler and Cynthia Rodriguez, to talk about this unique program, in which people are working together to fight an invisible, deadly enemy: COVID-19. A story that is still changing lives every day.