Three More Colleges Join ‘College to Careers' Initiative

Three more of Chicago's city colleges are getting more prestigious.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday announced new partnerships with local companies who will come into the schools, help write the curriculum, train the students and ultimately hire them.

The Information Technology program at Wilbur Wright College, the Advanced Manufacturing program at Richard J. Daley College and the Culinary and Hospitality program at Kennedy-King College are joining the mayor's College to Careers initiative.

"I want the adults and the kids that are going to our community colleges to be able to compete and win for the jobs of tomorrow and the jobs of today," the mayor said at a press event at Daley College, which will be partnering with Solo Cup Company, WaterSaver Faucet Company and Arrow Gear to train students in advanced manufacturing.

Kennedy King College will get help from the owner of Heaven on Seven and Purple Pig restaurants, and Wright College students will be trained from partners that include Motorola, Google and Cisco.

The mayor's office said it predicts more than 80,000 job openings in the three fields in Cook County.

The College to Careers program has been ramping up healthcare, transportation, distribution, and logistics programs at Malcolm X College and Olive-Harvey College since the program began.

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