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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.

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.

The American Job Center Chicago and Cook County Network Orientation. To see a list of locations, click here:

AJC-web-3.pdf (chicookworks.org)

The conversation continues in part two of Beyond the Data: Real Stories of the Great Resignation, where host and Partnership CEO Karin M. Norington-Reaves dives into the motivations behind employees stepping away from the workforce, and the ripple effects those decisions have throughout our lives.

Millions of Americans are stepping away from their jobs in a movement many have dubbed, "The Great Resignation." Joining host and Partnership CEO Karin M. Norington-Reaves are some who have reset or reimagined their work-lives: an entrepreneur and consultant; a Chief Strategy Officer at Near North Health; and an aspiring Voice Over Artist. The conversation is balanced out by an employer facing a workforce shortage and an expert who helps us better understand the "secret sauce" behind the motivation for these changes.

Join host Karin Norington-Reaves, CEO of the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, in part two of this episode as we continue the conversation about the manufacturing industry. Special guests mHub CEO and Co-Founder Haven Allen; Just Ice CEO and General Manager of Fat Ice Conrad Burnett; Technology and Manufacturing Association President Patrick Osborn; and Symbol Training Institute Founder and Executive Director Diana Peters discuss manufacturing "offshoring," supply chain challenges, apprenticeships, equity in the manufacturing industry and more.

Join host Karin Norington-Reaves, CEO of the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, for part one of a two-part conversation about all things manufacturing as we celebrate Manufacturing Month. Joining her are experts in the field, each with their own unique journey in the industry: a community organizer and former Peace Corp member who is now the CEO of a manufacturing innovation center; a CEO who was formerly involved with the criminal justice system and experienced homelessness who finds daily peace of mind in his high-tech manufacturing work; a daughter of immigrants who left a job at a prestigious law firm to follow in her father's footsteps when the business needed to create a much-needed talent pipeline; and the new president of a manufacturing association who stumbled into the trade after leaving his home of Dublin, Ireland to join an apprenticeship program in the U.S. There is talk of earning 6-figure wages in work that some still associate with "grit and grime," and exploration of a career ladder that offers equity in the workplace doesn't necessarily require a 4-year degree.

The calendar may no longer say it's September and Workforce Development Month, but this conversation is engaging at any time. Tune in as Partnership CEO and host Karin M. Norington-Reaves covers a wide range of topics with Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. The discussion includes the President's perspectives on serious topics such as "politics as a team sport," and digital and racial equity and some surprises, like President Preckwinkle's earliest career aspirations (we bet you can't guess) and how she unwinds during these challenging times. Listen in as these two remarkable women share a funny, candid and important conversation about workforce development and much more in Cook County.

In this 2-part episode you'll hear about how Discover Financial Services is opening a new customer care center in Chicago's Chatham neighborhood and bringing nearly 1,000 full-time jobs to the area. Host Karin Norington-Reaves, CEO of the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, is joined by a panel of representatives from Discover Financial Services as they discuss Discover's approach to and definition of community investment, why they chose Chatham as the site for the customer care center, as well as Discover's equity and inclusion goals.