YOUTH ELIGIBILITY
Chicago youth and young adults ages 14–24
SERVICE AREAS
GED | Job training & placement | Mentoring | Record expungement
PHONE
Partner employer application
Top, trained talent ready to work for you
Are you an employer? Invest in our communities’ futures by helping provide jobs and career mentoring to our youth. From new hire wage subsidies to tax credits and federal bonding, we can create a partnership that works for your business’s needs.
Fill out our interest form below, and a member of our Workforce Development team will reach out to discuss our partnership opportunities.
You never forget your first job. We’re here to make the memory a good one for more Chicagoans.
Our Workforce Development program supports young adults experiencing racial, socioeconomic, and other disparities at every phase of their employment journey. Through partnerships with local employers and organizations, we provide GED education, job training and placement, justice-involved record expungement, trauma coaching, and targeted career preparation. We ease the path to employment for those with education gaps and prior justice involvement and foster inclusive spaces where every young person can grow their career confidence.
Our specialized offerings include:
Paid Career Readiness Training
Mentoring Youth to Inspire Meaningful Employment (MY TIME) is a trauma-informed job training offering that helps young people in the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) secure employment, build career skills, and gain work experience in their communities.
Want more information on program eligibility and benefits? Download our MY TIME flyer.
Apprenticeships and Service Careers
The Illinois Youth Investment Program (IYIP) offering helps young people secure and sustain long-term employment through subsidized work experience in service industries. We partner with organizations who understand the physical, emotional, social, and mental health barriers participants may be facing.
Want more information on program eligibility and benefits? Download our IYIP brochure.
Are you an employer interested in hiring IYIP youth? Download our IYIP employer brochure.
License-based Professions
Earn your GED, get licensed in a specialized field such as truck driving or medical assisting, and do it all for free as part of Lawrence Hall and Cook County Workforce Partnership’s Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) offering.
WIOA enrolls out-of-school youth in subsidized career training, credentials, and education opportunities, and connects them with job opportunities.
Want more information on program eligibility and benefits? Download our WIOA brochure.
Are you an employer interested in hiring WIOA youth? Download our WIOA employer brochure.
Support through the City
Created for youth and young adults ages 14-24, Chicago Youth Works, Chicagobility, and Summer Youth Employment (SYEP), are city-run offerings that help youth learn financial and computer literacy, explore career tracks in a variety of sectors, and complete hands-on projects that positively impact their communities.
Career Development
Our Right Turn offering provides individualized education, training, and workforce development, guiding participants through a three-phase career development process:
- Self-exploration
- Career exploration
- Career planning and management
In partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment Training Administration and the Institute for Educational Leadership, our Right Turn offering serves youth ages 18–24.
They have opened my eyes to the opportunities in and outside of my community and how even though they may seem unachievable, they are more in your grasp than you think.
Deshaun
program participant
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