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Dear Supporters, Partners, and Friends:
As we reflect on 2022, it was a milestone year for Skills for Chicagoland’s Future (Skills). As the organization entered its tenth year, we achieved a goal that seemed impossible in 2012; we placed our 10,000th Chicagoan into a job. More than the number, it is about the people themselves. A job can be life changing, and it is an honor that so many people have trusted Skills to help them along in their employment journey. Additionally, over 70% of those individuals reside on the south and west sides of Chicago.
Beyond the numbers, we have kept our promise to locate in underserved neighborhoods and in 2022 began operating out of North Lawndale. The Skills Neighborhood Link office in North Lawndale is housed at the North Lawndale Employment Network, and we’re thrilled and thankful to have them as a partner. With already operating locations in the Loop and Englewood, this network of office locations across Chicago can help to serve more job seekers in need of work closer to where they live.
Beyond Chicago and Rhode Island, our national expansion efforts have yielded a new site in Phoenix which will begin operating in 2023. We are also so proud that our model continues to serve as a best practice as we continue to work with cities and regions across the country to bring the Skills model to their area.
Now more than ever, employers must commit to hiring a more diverse workforce and seeking talent in new places. Our approach is the fastest way to level the economic playing field, especially in Chicago’s underinvested communities. While we are making great strides, until job equity and inclusive hiring are the ‘norms,’ there will continue to be much work to do.
Lastly, Skills turned to a new chapter as 2022 came to a close. Skills’ founding CEO, Marie Trzupek Lynch, departed the organization, and we are forever thankful for her passionate drive. Her work led to these outstanding results, and put Skills on a trajectory to continue to grow and impact more lives. The most impactful legacy Marie left Skills was a powerful, high-functioning team that hasn’t missed a beat as we continue to extend Skills’ reach and impact.
The work is not done and these meaningful strides over the past ten years are only the beginning of our story. We will not be done until the path to economic equity is within sight for everyone. This can be done if we all work together. Please find a way to hire, donate, or volunteer at Skills for Chicagoland’s Future in 2023.
We look forward to expanding and strengthening our partnerships and growing our impact in 2023 and beyond. Thank you for your ongoing support.
Mark Hoplamazian
President & Chief Executive Officer, Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Board Chair, Skills for Chicagoland’s Future
How We Work
We know that what hinders job seekers more often than the “skills gap” is the “access gap”, so we flip the traditional workforce development model and start with the job. Working with our network of employer partners, we identify long-term hiring needs and connect unemployed and underemployed talent directly to open roles. We reduce barriers to employment and impact economic mobility in Chicago’s historically underinvested communities by working with our hiring partners to eliminate barriers that disqualify candidates unnecessarily.
Embedded in the Community
Skills Neighborhood Link locations were developed to partner with and provide resources and support from the Skills team in neighborhoods, as part of our commitment to reducing barriers to employment and building access to economic opportunity. Our co-located sites serve as a hub for employers, job seekers, and the community at large. To date, we’ve hosted job fairs, meetings with funders and partners, and appointments for local candidates to meet with our team.
Englewood
In 2021, we opened the doors to our first Skills Neighborhood Link location, co-located with the Greater Englewood Community Development Corporation at 815 W. 63rd Street, on Chicago’s south side.
North Lawndale
In 2022, we brought staff to co-locate with with the North Lawndale Employment Network at 1111 S. Homan Avenue, on Chicago’s west side.
In 2022, over 70% of our placements are local talent from Chicago’s south and west side neighborhoods:
Top Placement Neighborhoods
| 1. Austin | 6. North Lawndale |
| 2. South Shore | 7. Chatham |
| 3. Auburn Gresham | 8. Englewood |
| 4. Greater Grand Crossing | 9. Woodlawn |
| 5. Roseland | 10. South Chicago |
Delivering More than a Job
Our Career Access programs connect job seekers with long-term careers and pathways into middle skill roles by combining quality jobs with coaching, mentoring, professional development, and educational opportunities.
Partnering with leading local companies to develop career pathways for job seekers, the Pivot to Success program impacts job seekers looking for more than a job. Participants are fast-tracked from an entry-level job into short-term education at no cost—all while receiving mentorship and guidance to help them achieve a promotion and begin progressing along their career journey as stackable credentials are completed.
Job seekers can put their recently attained credentials to use through the Credential Connection program. After completing a training or certification program with a partner organization, participants receive job readiness training and have access to customized professional development through resume prep, interview prep, and employer-tailored guidance. Upon program completion, our team will submit qualified candidates to our employer partners currently hiring.
Our 2022 Employer Network
Our team helps to connect employers to a diverse pool of local job-ready unemployed and underemployed talent. We are proud to have partnered with these employers who hired Skills job seekers in 2022.
Employer Spotlights
Since 2017, we’ve partnered with Jewel-Osco to hire close to 1,000 job seekers throughout Chicagoland. Even during the pandemic, they continued to be one of our most active employer partners. With nearly 350 Skills placements over the past two years, Jewel-Osco has hired people into various roles including Cashiers, Department Manager Trainees, Pharmacy Technicians, Store Manager Trainees, Warehouse Associates, and more.
In 2022, throughout the month of August, we were honored to have Jewel-Osco support Skills through their Register Round-Up Campaign at 180 Jewel-Osco locations across Chicago and the surrounding suburbs! Anyone who shopped at Jewel-Osco in August had the opportunity to add $1, $3, $5, etc. to their purchase at checkout. $379,161.25 was raised, and all funds contribute to our mission of creating economic opportunity for Chicago’s unemployed and underemployed.
We are proud and incredibly grateful for Jewel-Osco for their loyalty and dedication to getting Chicago back to work.
A global financial institution with a strong retail presence throughout Chicagoland, Bank of America is dedicated to hiring candidates from diverse and historically disinvested communities and preparing candidates for ongoing career opportunities. They are committed to helping all of their employees become strong teammates, grow professionally, and lead better financial lives.
With over five years of financial support, including grants for our Career Pathways programming, Bank of America has also hired more candidates in 2022 than in previous partnership years. They have employed job seekers across various roles including Advanced Client Solutions, Relationship Banker, Wealth Management Associate, Client Services Representative, and more.
Additionally, Bank of America announced that Skills for Chicagoland’s Future was chosen as one of two Chicago nonprofits to receive the 2022 Neighborhood Builders Award! This recognition includes a $200,000 grant and leadership training to help us continue to get the unemployed and underemployed back to work across Chicagoland.
One of the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For, AIM Specialty Health boasts a collaborative, innovative, impact-driven culture. They are invested in the local community and committed to developing leaders from within.
In 2022, approximately 10% of the customer service team hires for AIM Specialty Health were filled through Skills. Additionally, Skills hires for 2022 achieved a 90-day retention rate of 83%, making the retention rate the highest amongst all Skills partners!
2022 Employment Champions Breakfast Award Winners
Champion for the Unemployed
10-Year Employer Partners
2022 Sponsors
Presenting Sponsor
Champion Sponsor
Greg & Anna Brown
Mark Hoplamazian
& Rachel Kohler
Margot & Tom Pritzker
Family Foundation
Ambassador Sponsor
Advocate Sponsors
Supporter Sponsors
Expanding Beyond Chicago
National Expansion
In 2022, we announced that Skills for America’s Future, a national expansion initiative operated by Skills for Chicagoland’s Future, has partnered with Greater Phoenix Chamber Foundation to bring the jobs-first model to Phoenix, AZ. Phoenix will now be the third affiliate, including Chicago and Rhode Island, but the first “Powered by Skills” affiliate. This relationship creates a bolt on solution that is additive, not duplicative to an established organization seeking to provide workforce solutions.
We are proud that our model is a best practice as we continue to work with cities and regions across the country and to better serve employers and job seekers across the country. Learn more, stay connected, and get engaged by visiting www.SkillsForAmericasfuture.org.
A special ‘thank you’ to the donors supporting the national expansion work: the Aviv Foundation, the Charles Koch Foundation, Dennis and Joan Berger, Mike and Cindy Bonds, the Community Focus Fund at the Chicago Community Foundation, Mark Hoplamazian and Rachel Kohler, JPMorgan Chase Foundation, Mark and Pam Kendall, Art Margulis, Joe and Elizabeth Pomerenke, Stand Together Foundation, Suffolk Cares, the Donald E. Thompson and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson Family Fund at the Ayco Charitable Foundation, and Walmart.org.
CBO Collective
Skills is proud to be one of the founding organizations of the Community Based Organization Collective (CBO Collective) and currently acts as the fiduciary partner.
The CBO Collective exists to provide employers with a central point of access for local talent that face barriers to employment. It was formed to increase employment of Chicago’s south and west side residents by aligning corporate demand with a collective workforce development approach. Driven by the spirit of inclusivity, 16 founding non-profits have organized for systems change. Through the shared efforts of member organizations, the CBOC Collective is able to place hundreds of additional people into jobs, on top of the cumulative thousands who are served independently.
CBO Collective Members
