The Board of Directors of Skills for Chicagoland’s Future (SCF), a public-private partnership working to close the skills gap in Chicago and Cook County by helping to match unemployed job seekers with businesses that have immediate hiring needs, announced today that Glenn F. Tilton, chairman of the Midwest for JPMorgan Chase & Co., will serve as the nonprofit organization’s new chair, effective immediately. Tilton assumes the leadership role with SCF as founding Board chair Penny Pritzker assumes the role of United States Secretary of Commerce.
Tilton joins a 20-member Board of Directors committed to advancing SCF’s mission by contributing personal expertise, corporate funding and commitments to hire unemployed Cook County job seekers. His new leadership role with SCF builds on JPMorgan Chase’s mission to help create jobs and grow local businesses, and enhances the company’s commitment to the workforce and economic development nonprofit organization.
“Glenn’s expertise from the business world and as an advisor to government and nonprofit organizations, combined with JPMorgan Chase’s longstanding commitment to workforce and economic development in the region, make him the perfect choice to lead our organization. JPMorgan Chase is one of our strongest supporters and our largest corporate funder—they have committed to providing us with $600,000 over the next two years, served on our Board for the past year and hired unemployed job seekers through our program,” said SCF President and CEO Marie Trzupek Lynch. “We are grateful to Penny for the leadership and vision she has provided Skills for Chicagoland’s Future as the founding chair, and we wish her the best of luck in her important new role.”
“It is essential that the public and private sectors are working together to create and find jobs for our residents, as well as making sure that our residents are properly trained for those positions,” said Mayor Emanuel. “Skills for Chicagoland’s Future plays a crucial role in ensuring this collaboration, and I am confident that Glenn’s experience and network will be a valuable asset as we pursue these goals.”
Launched in September 2012, SCF is a signature initiative of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle to close the workforce skills gap, drive business growth and get unemployed Cook County residents back to work. The organization works directly with local employers to identify their available hiring needs and match them with qualified, unemployed job seekers from Chicago and Cook County. When necessary, SCF also coordinates government funding for customized training programs, so that candidates have the skills needed to deliver results from their first day on the job. SCF services are offered at no cost to unemployed job seekers.
Since its launch, the organization has developed strong partnerships with more than 25 Chicagoland employers, which have committed to hire approximately 750 job seekers through SCF. These employers include such companies as Accretive Health, CDW, GoHealth, United, McDonald’s and SeatonCorp.
“Doing a better job of matching the skills needed by our large and small local businesses with relevant and effective training programs for those looking for employment is critical for our unemployed—and for the future economic growth of Chicago and the region,” said Tilton. “As recommended in one of the 10 strategies for our city by World Business Chicago, we must build more meaningful partnerships between employers and educational institutions and provide training that fills a commercial need and leads to more sustainable employment for the people in our communities. This will require significant collaboration between organizations such as SCF and the public and private sectors in Chicago. We must leverage our collective resources and find synergies to address the ongoing issue of the skills mismatch with marketplace requirements. I am delighted to take on this role at SCF and to work with all those involved to build on the efforts to date.”
Tilton has served as chairman of the Midwest for JPMorgan Chase since June 2011. Previously, he served as non-executive chairman of the Board of Directors of United Continental Holdings, Inc., following the merger between United and Continental Airlines in 2010. During his previous tenure as chairman and CEO of United Airlines, Tilton was named by President Obama to the President’s Export Council and by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to the Future of Aviation Advisory Committee.
Additionally, Tilton currently serves on the Executive Committee of World Business Chicago’s Board of Directors and is co-chair of its Plan for Economic Growth & Jobs steering committee. He is on the Board of Directors for Abbott Laboratories, AbbVie, Phillips 66, Northwestern Memorial Healthcare and various Chicago civic organizations, including The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the Commercial Club of Chicago Civic Committee, the Executives’ Club of Chicago, the Field Museum, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Big Shoulders Fund, After School Matters and the 100 Club of Chicago. Tilton also serves as chairman of the American Cancer Society’s national program, CEOs Against Cancer.
Skills for Chicagoland’s Future is the first regional adaptation of the successful national Skills for America’s Future (SAF) organization that works to foster partnerships between businesses and community colleges to ensure workers are trained with employer-needed skills.
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Skills for Chicagoland’s Future is a public-private partnership maximizing limited resources by building on the existing capacity in the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership and uniting City of Chicago and Cook County businesses, job seekers, workforce development partners, and educational institutions in a coordinated effort to close the workforce skills gap, drive business growth and get unemployed Cook County residents back to work. The organization is supported by the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois, as well as by private and corporate foundations. SCF’s win-win approach is not only an important civic initiative, but also a great way to make the region economically stronger and bring a highly skilled and diverse workforce to companies who need it. Skills for Chicagoland’s Future is the first regional adaptation of the successful national Skills for America’s Future (SAF) organization that works to foster partnerships between businesses and community colleges to ensure workers are trained with employer-needed skills.