The Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership’s Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) Workforce Hubs provide two training programs in the Chicago and suburban Cook County region: a Bridge Program and a Job-Specific Training Program. These programs are preparing hundreds of participants for careers as Weatherization and HVAC professionals, Solar Photovoltaic Installers, Electric Vehicle Charging Station Installers, Hybrid Auto Technicians and more. Tune into this podcast to hear how this program is chan...
Aug 01, 2025•36 min
Hospitality Hires Chicago, a Partnership production, offers a truly exceptional hiring experience. If you're selecting just one employment event this year, here's why this should be your choice: You'll be matched with the ideal employer for your skills and aspirations. The event's "secret sauce" is that all participating organizations must come with open positions and be ready to hire on the spot! You won't find dead-end jobs here. Instead, discover rewarding career opportunities with competitiv...
Mar 27, 2025•49 min
In this episode, Chicago’s Deputy Mayor of Community Safety Garien Gatewood joins host and CEO of the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership George Wright to discuss Chicago's innovative approach to violence reduction and its intersection with workforce development. The deputy mayor outlines his office's strategy of empowering neighborhoods to participate in sharing their priorities and thoughts in developing local safety initiatives, working block by block to address unique local needs. The convers...
Jan 23, 2025•34 min
In recognition of the 10th annual National Apprenticeship Week, this episode explores the transformative power of modern apprenticeship programs through an engaging discussion with employers, apprentices, and workforce development leaders. Led by George Wright, CEO of The Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, the conversation features insights from Rob Johnson of the Building Owners and Management Association of Chicago, Jennifer Charles of GCJ Hospitality Resources, and apprentices Natalie Guzman...
Nov 17, 2024•37 min
This episode originally aired on WVON-AM radio and explores youth workforce development programs in Cook County. Host George Wright, CEO of the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, is joined by Joshua, a program coordinator for the Partnership's Community Innovations and Impact team. The conversation focuses on two key initiatives: Opportunity Works and Opportunity Summer, which connect young people with paid internships and training in high-growth industries. Joshua discusses the programs' origi...
Sep 25, 2024•28 min
This episode originally aired on WVON-AM radio and explores the diverse career opportunities within the healthcare industry. Host George Wright, CEO of the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, is joined by a community health worker with the South Side Healthy Community Organization and the Deputy Project Director of the Partnership's Healthcare Sector Center. The conversation dispels common myths about healthcare careers, highlighting that the field extends far beyond just doctors and nurses. Dis...
Sep 25, 2024•37 min
This episode originally aired on WVON-AM radio and explores the critical role of construction careers in creating family-sustaining pathways and addressing workforce diversity challenges. Host George Wright, CEO of the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, is joined by guest Manny Rodriguez, Executive Director of Revolution Workshop. They discuss how organizations like Revolution Workshop are working to meet the demand for a more diverse and skilled construction workforce. The conversation highlig...
Sep 25, 2024•36 min
This episode originally aired on WVON-AM radio and features a discussion about the groundbreaking partnership between Malcolm X College's Westside Learning Center, KRA, and the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership. Guests David A. Sanders, President of Malcolm X College, Dean Barbara Meschino, and Nieal Ross from KRA Corporation share insights on how this collaboration is transforming lives in Chicago's Austin community by providing accessible education, career training, and job placement services...
Sep 25, 2024•38 min
This episode originally aired on WVON-AM radio and features a discussion about ConstructionWorks, a workforce development program funded by the Illinois Tollway, and administered by The Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership. Host and CEO of the Partnership, George Wright, is joined by Cassaundra Rouse, Executive Director of the Illinois Tollway, and Marlene Vick, Acting Chief of Diversity for the Illinois Tollway. They explore how ConstructionWorks is designed to increase diversity and access to hi...
Sep 09, 2024•28 min
Host George Wright, CEO of The Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, is joined by City Colleges of Chicago Chancellor Juan Salgado, as they discuss their intentional partnership to connect the 60,000+ City Colleges students with career opportunities. Discover how this collaboration between the workforce and education systems aims to provide upward mobility and equity for Chicago's students. You'll also hear about the importance of higher education in gaining skills and stability in the job market,...
May 06, 2024•37 min
Join host George Wright, Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, as he discusses the organization's new "Level Up Your Career" and "Power Up Your Business" campaign. Joining the conversation are Vanessa Lopez Jackson, a leader at The Lemon Ad Stand creative agency which developed the gaming-themed campaign aimed at promoting the region's ten American Job Centers. Also featured are Lisa Maentz and Clelia Ferro, leaders at AJCs in suburban Cook County, who share how the ...
Oct 27, 2023•55 min
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.
Sep 01, 2023•12 min
In Cook County more than 520,000 Chicagoland residents report having a disability. The Partnership and Cook County have launched the Cook County Career Pathways Navigator program to support individuals with disabilities and connect them with organizations to help them with their career path. In this episode, we observe Disability Pride Month with a workforce professional, an employer, and an employee with a disability. Visit https://www.scalelit.org/jobseeker to learn more about Cook County Care...
Jun 27, 2023•25 min
Each April, the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs celebrates Second Chance Month, which aims to inform and highlight the opportunities for state, local, and tribal governments and community-based service providers to build meaningful second chances for our returning community members. In this two-part episode, host Avik Das, Executive Director of the Cook County Justice Advisory Council, is joined by a panel of guests to discuss how Cook County is helping men and women retu...
Apr 27, 2023•25 min
Each April, the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs celebrates Second Chance Month, which aims to inform and highlight the opportunities for state, local, and tribal governments and community-based service providers to build meaningful second chances for our returning community members. In this two-part episode, host Avik Das, Executive Director of the Cook County Justice Advisory Council, is joined by a panel of guests to discuss how Cook County is helping men and women retu...
Apr 27, 2023•22 min
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!
Dec 26, 2022•38 min
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 an...
Sep 08, 2022•19 min
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 Fo...
Mar 23, 2022•42 min
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...
Feb 25, 2022•38 min
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...
Feb 08, 2022•31 min
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...
Feb 08, 2022•29 min
The American Job Center Chicago and Cook County Network Orientation. To see a list of locations, click here: AJC-web-3.pdf (chicookworks.org)
Jan 26, 2022•10 min
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.
Dec 10, 2021•25 min
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 motivat...
Dec 10, 2021•36 min
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, apprentices...
Oct 27, 2021•36 min
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 pea...
Oct 27, 2021•39 min
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...
Oct 01, 2021•37 min
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 ...
Aug 13, 2021•29 min
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 ...
Aug 13, 2021•24 min
Over 15 months have passed since the start of the global pandemic, and although vaccinations are on the rise, the impact on the economy continues. In Cook County alone more than 1.5 million people filed for unemployment benefits- roughly half the population of Chicago. According to the Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association, more than 50 Chicago hotels closed during the pandemic, putting more than 20,00 people out of work. Tune in for a 2-part conversation with host Karin Norington-Reaves, CEO o...
Jul 15, 2021•22 min
