Tuesday, December 13, 2011
News City (Vocational) Colleges of Chicago
Posted by Deanna Isaacs on 12.13.11 at 01:04 PM
Under this plan, experts from "industry partners" will help design certificate programs and individual courses that they or other "industry experts" may also teach. In addition, they'll provide "access to internships, on-site training, and job interviews."
Actual jobs? No promises there, but Emanuel claims that by "2020 Chicago will need approximately 75,000 more health care practitioners." And between now and then we'll also need "4,000 new truck drivers," he says. Accordingly, the first two programs are a healthcare partnership at Malcolm X College, with partners like Rush and Stroger Hospitals, and a "transportation and logistics industry" partnership at Olive-Harvey College, with partners that include the CTA and UPS.
Of course, relationships with institutions like local hospitals aren't a brand-new idea: the colleges already had some of them. At best, "College to Careers" will expand and build on that. At worst, it'll transfer job training costs from industry to students and taxpayers, without any assurance of employment to follow. And you don't need to go to college to be a truck driver. Here's the Mayor's press release and speech, and here's our story about the overall "Reinvention" under way at CCC.
Comments (3)
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Is this a plot by Rahm and his banking friends to get young Chicagoans in further debt through student loans? After all, a City College degrees isn't enough to help get them hired by the top-echelon white collar employers that Rahm keeps gives taxpayer money to relocate to the city... Of course, I only half-jest. But in the spirit of annual year-in-reviews, check out this full-on funny YouTube video about when Rahm -- fresh off his election win -- literally was reaching out to Chicagoans to thank them for electing him mayor. http://tinyurl.com/c6v6qgf
like
dislikeThis isn't a new or inappropriate idea.
Historically, community colleges are the most responsive parts of the education system to local employment trends. Businesses of all kinds have long shouldered training costs because schools aren't preparing workers for available jobs. They'll continue to train employees on specific tools and processes, but they're right to expect a minimally educated and prepared workforce.
If there is a conspiracy concerning City Colleges of Chicago, it is that people believe that Chicago is not capable of running a city college system that meets and exceeds the needs of it's citizens.
The system is not perfect, but it is the best damn thing this city has to offer. We are Chicago, the cross-roads, and the focus of the institution can not be narrowed down to be anything other than that ... a cross-roads of academia, industry, outreach, etc ...
Stop hating on the institution and focus your attention on the student, the instructor, the adviser, etc ...
