Workforce Institute
The Workforce Institute (WFI) was developed by City Colleges of Chicago to serve employers through flexible and customized training programs that offer portable skills and industry recognized certificates and credentials to the incumbent and displaced workforce. The WFI will customize instruction to meet the schedule, location, and delivery methodology required by employers so that their incumbent workforce can acquire needed job skills that increases productivity and company growth.
Customized Training for Business and Industry
Our customized training programs include, but are not limited to:
Business and Professional Writing
Computed Numerically Controlled (CNC)
Workplace English as a Second Language (ESL)
External & Internal Customer Service
Industry Standard Certifications: NIMS, AWS, OSHA and More
LEAN Enterprise Coaching and Mentoring
Microsoft Suite
Non-Profit Board Development and Improvement
Six Sigma Development and Implementation
Succession and Strategic Planning
Time and Meeting Management
Website Creation and Maintenance
Industries and organizations that have accessed our resources include:
American Bar Association
Blue Cross Blue Shield
Chicago Department of Housing and Economic Development
Chicago Department of Family and Support Services
Chicago Public Library
Club Quarters
Commonwealth Edison
Freedman Seating
Instituto del Progreso Latino
Midwest Metal Forming
Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Solo Cup Company
S & C Electric
University of Chicago Hospital Academy
Vienna Beef, Ltd.
YMCA of the USA
Busy Beaver Button company
Stainless Sales company
Program Examples
Small Business Development Program (SBDP)
The Small Business Development Program is a comprehensive 69-hour management training program taught in English and Spanish for Spanish-speaking small business owners. Business owners are instructed in the areas of technology, strategy, legal, marketing, and finance.
The SBDP is a City of Chicago Department of Housing and Economic Development TIFworks funded pilot program developed and implemented by the Workforce Institute. The pilot program will work with approximately 60 businesses in the Pilsen business district, the Logan Square business district and the West Lawn-63rd and Pulaski business district.
Information Technology Training Programs
The Workforce Institute partners with Chicago Career Tech, an innovative resource for local businesses that strives to close the workforce skills gap by providing organizations with talented, retrained professionals needed to fill employment vacancies.
This job retraining initiative integrates classroom training and hands-on learning to provide unemployed middle-income workers with the skills necessary for high-demand technology-based careers.
This program is taught in an accelerated, cohort structure where students attend Friday and Saturday lectures and labs for a six-month period, earning industry-recognized certifications. Students are assigned real business problems to learn to work in teams, know how to problem solve, and have vertical and horizontal communication skills to be better prepared for real work experience.
Through this program, the Workforce Institute has delivered certification training programs such as the following
- Network Technology/Cisco
- Microsoft Certified Application Specialist/Microsoft Office Specialist
- Oracle Database/SQL Developer
- Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist