CEOs for Cities spoke with the key players behind two important programs in Chicago that are trying to connect college students to the workforce and encourage them to develop the skills employers need: the
College to Careers (C2C) program, spearheaded by Chicago City Colleges, and the
Minority Male STEM initiative, a partnership between Chicago City Colleges and the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC).
Writes Tara Sturm:
Addressing the current and future realities of our economic situation is important for those wanting to move into the workforce, as well as the developing needs of employers. The collaborative Minority Men STEM Initiative highlights the growing need for skills rooted in mathematics and the sciences. The initiative gives 20-25 African-American, Latino, or Southeast Asian students the opportunity to receive academic support, paid research experience, and access to a learning environment or "culture of science" that will pave the way for academic success, future job opportunities, and (hopefully) a path to graduate school. The participants in the program would complete an associate's degree at City Colleges, then move on to UIC to finish a Bachelor's degree in the same field. The program encompasses a myriad of different services, but Hyman emphasizes that research shows students having already completed and associate’s program have a higher probability of success in earning a four-year degree.
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