EMPLOYER PARTNERSHIPS

Partner With Us

To help employers recruit and retain diverse, qualified talent and to support our students in gaining meaningful hands-on experience, City Colleges partners with organizations of all sizes and across a wide range of industries.

Why Partner With City Colleges?

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    Our students are diverse and talented.

    City Colleges of Chicago serves more than 70,000 students every year, 75% of whom identify as Black or Latinx. Our students are being educated by expert faculty in in-demand industries to help them build knowledge and skills that are relevant to your organization.

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    We can support your recruitment and retention efforts.

    When organizations invest in City Colleges students early, they can gain hard-working, long-term employees. Many City Colleges apprentices are offered or converted to full-time roles at the completion of their program.

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    We provide tailored solutions to meet your workforce needs.

    City Colleges works with employers in a variety of ways to help those organizations meet their workforce goals. Read the list below to see how we have partnered with employers in the past, or tell us more about your unique needs, and we can construct a plan that supports both our students and your business goals.

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    Our team supports yours to build organizational capacity.

    The City Colleges of Chicago team serves as an extension of your hiring team, working alongside you to market your program, recruit students who are the best fit for your organization, and conduct initial screenings of applicants. Once students are placed, we will provide additional support to ensure they are successful at your organization.

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    We work with employers across a wide range of in-demand industries.

    City Colleges offers programs and pathways in today’s top industries to help our students gain knowledge and skills that will support their success at your organization. We partner with employers across sectors, including:

    • Advanced Manufacturing
    • Architecture, Construction Technology, and Engineering
    • Business, Banking, Finance, Operations, and Insurance
    • Culinary and Hospitality
    • Health Care
    • Information Technology
    • Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics

Employer Interest Form

Fill out the form below to learn more about partnering with City Colleges of Chicago.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
I am interested in the following partnership opportunities (Select all that apply)(Required)

By providing an email address, I am opting-in to receive communications from City Colleges of Chicago (CCC). I understand that CCC will not share my information with external organizations.

Ways to Partner With Us

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Advisory Partner

Ensure our programs and curriculum align with industry standards

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Program Partner

Connect with our students to help them explore various careers

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Talent Partner

Partner with City Colleges to fill your talent gaps

If your organization is interested in partnering with City Colleges in any of the ways listed below, fill out the form on this page, and someone from our team will be in touch.

Advisory Council

College Engagements

Micro-Internships

Internships

Youth Workforce Development

Apprenticeships

Customized Trainings

Special Workforce Initiatives

Advisory Partner

Work with our college teams as a member of an Industry Advisory Council to ensure our curriculum and programs are up-to-date, relevant, and aligned to industry standards. Most Advisory Council meetings occur twice a year.

Program Partner

Collaborate with academic and program staff at our colleges to help students explore different career pathways and industries. Engagement opportunities may include, but are not limited to:

  • Employer site visits
  • Guest lectures
  • Industry-related and career readiness workshops
  • Mentoring/coaching a student or group
  • Shadow days
  • Teaching a course

Talent Partner

Partner with City Colleges to develop a skilled, diverse employee pipeline and fill your talent gaps through apprenticeships, internships, micro-internships, and more. We can also provide customized trainings to help upskill/reskill your existing workforce or work with you to create industry-specific workforce initiatives.

Connect with City Colleges students and alumni on Handshake to fulfill your hiring needs. Follow the steps below to sign up for an account. If you’re already on Handshake, skip to step 5.

  1. Visit app.joinhandshake.com.
  2. Select “Employers and Career Centers.”
  3. Enter your company email address.
  4. Build your profile and begin posting jobs.
  5. Make sure to search for and select “City Colleges of Chicago” and/or one of our seven colleges when identifying which schools to post the opportunity to.

If you need help, contact career-services@ccc.edu.

If you are looking to upskill or reskill your existing workforce to address a skills gap, our Continuing Education and Customized Training Department can work with you to develop and provide customized trainings. Trainings are flexible, affordable, and can be offered on-site at your organization during a time that works best for your team.

We can work with you to recruit students and recent graduates for your paid internship program. Through marketing and student outreach, our team will search for the right students based on your needs, and we will conduct the initial screening of all City Colleges candidates.

Our team can work with you to develop an apprenticeship program or identify qualified applicants for an already existing apprenticeship program at your organization. Apprenticeships typically last one to two years, and your program will complement what our students are learning in the classroom. Our team will help recruit the right students based on your needs, and we will conduct the initial screening of all City Colleges candidates.

Beyond traditional internships and apprenticeships, you can also engage our students in paid short-term projects called “micro-internships.” Often, these projects require 10-40 hours of total work across two to four weeks. They are posted on a rolling basis and can be completed remotely year-round. Micro-internships are a great opportunity for employer partners to get projects completed and add capacity to your organization, while also providing paid opportunities for our students to gain work experience and explore various careers.

If you are interested in learning more about how to share micro-internship opportunities with our students, visit https://info.parkerdewey.com/ccc/featured.

Career Launch Chicago (CLC) is an innovative workforce development initiative led by City Colleges of Chicago, in partnership with Chicago Public Schools (CPS), that creates diverse pathways for high school students to explore and enter high-demand careers. As a part of the Chicago Roadmap partnership between City Colleges and CPS, CLC offers students a spectrum of engagement opportunities, including:

  • MAKERSPACES: Hands-on learning with industry tools and technologies
  • FACILITY TOURS: Real-world exposure to various work environments
  • JOB SHADOWING: In-depth insights into day-to-day activities
  • AIM TO LAUNCH: Summer programming that allows eligible recent CPS graduates to real-world knowledge and skills while earning college credits in their desired career sector (click here to learn more)
  • YOUTH APPRENTICESHIPS: One-year earn and learn model that allows eligible CPS students and recent graduates to gain on-the-job experience at a Chicago employer

Complete the interest form at the top of this page or email careerlaunchchicago@ccc.edu to learn more.

In addition to the opportunities listed above, we also work with employer partners to create special programs and initiatives that prepare students for work opportunities at their organizations. Tell us about your workforce needs, and we can work together to create a program or initiative that offers a solution.