Your organization could be featured at the 2023 Workforce Development Symposium!

July 11, 2023

About the Workforce Development Symposium

The second annual Chicagoland Workforce Development Symposium will be held on Thursday, October 12th at Malcolm X College. The theme this year is “Moving Equity from Concept to Reality.” The Symposium will feature keynote speaker, Clair Minson, a non-profit leader and racial equity consultant.

The Chicagoland Workforce Funder Alliance partnered with the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, Cook County Bureau of Economic Development, World Business Chicago, Chicago Jobs Council, Origami Works Foundation, and The Innovation Nexus to create this unique day-long event for workforce practitioners.

Attendees will learn about key trends in policy and practice, share their challenges, and examine successful strategies to pursue equitable workforce development. There will be time for networking and collaboration among attendees, including an on-site reception following the Symposium.

Registration is open until September 28th, 2023.

How will organizations be featured?

All attendees of the Symposium will be given a booklet (in both physical and digital forms) containing a schedule of events, directory of attendees open to networking, and other helpful information.

Each booklet will contain a section with graphics promoting workforce development organizations in Cook County. Each organization will be given half a page (4.5 in tall x 6 in wide) to share information about their organization in eye-catching graphic form. This graphic may share information about the organization overall, a portion of their mission, an upcoming project, or ongoing efforts — anything they would like Symposium attendees to know!

Who can be featured?

In order to be featured in the Symposium booklet, an organization must have at least one active, up-to-date entry in either Chicagoland CareerPathways or Talent Solutions Connector.

In order to be considered up-to-date in Chicagoland CareerPathways for the purposes of this opportunity, an entry must have:

• At least one eligibility requirement associated with the entry.
• Details elaborating upon every eligibility requirement associated with the entry. For example, an eligibility requirement of type Age should have a details field containing the age minimum, maximum, or range of participants (e.g. Must be 17 years or older).
• At least one quality indicator associated with the entry.
• Details elaborating upon every quality indicator associated with the entry. For example, a quality indicator of type Participant to staff ratio should have a details field containing the ratio itself (e.g. 30 to 1).
• At least one upcoming start date and enrollment/application deadline associated with the entry, or have indicated that the program operates on a rolling admissions schedule.

In order to be considered up-to-date in Talent Solutions Connector for the purposes of this opportunity, an entry must have:

• A description of the service explaining what the service does and offers to employers.
• A service type and sector focus selected.
• At least a primary service contact associated with the entry. (It is recommended that an entry list both a primary and a secondary service contact.)
• A cost to employer selected, with a cost description elaborating upon the specifics of the cost if the service is not categorized as free.
• An incentive or subsidy selected (i.e. Yes or No to the question of whether incentives or subsidies are available to employers who engage with the service).
• At least one area served selected. Keep in mind that this is an indication of which regions an employer partner may be located in order to engage this service.

If your organization does not have an entry in either Chicagoland CareerPathways or Talent Solutions Connector, please reach out to Whitney Wilson, Directory Manager, at [email protected]. Our team will determine your eligibility and onboard you to one or both platforms if your organization qualifies for inclusion.

Submissions will be accepted until September 1.

How do I submit my organization to be featured at the Symposium?

1. Make sure your organization has an account on either Chicagoland CareerPathways or Talent Solutions Connector. Not sure? Email Whitney Wilson, Directory Manager, at [email protected]
2. Sign into the appropriate Provider Portal for your organization. Click here to sign into the CareerPathways Provider Portal. Click here to sign into the Connector Provider Portal.
3. Click the button labeled Become a featured provider at the 2023 Workforce Development Symposium at the top of the Provider Portal.
4. If your organization has at least one active, up-to-date entry, you will be able to upload and submit your graphic in the displayed window. If you would like to change your submission after uploading your graphic, send an email to Whitney Wilson, Directory Manager, at [email protected].
5. If your organization does not have at least one active, up-to-date entry, you will be walked through the process of updating your entries and/or resubmitting them for activation. Once any active entries are brought up-to-date and/or inactive entries reactivated, you will be able to upload and submit your graphic from this same screen.

If you face any challenges in preparing your entries for submission or navigating the Provider Portal, reach out to Whitney Wilson, Directory Manager, at [email protected] with any questions.

Submissions will be accepted until September 1.

How can I share the news about the Symposium?

We hope to see you and your colleagues at the Symposium this fall. If you would like to help spread the word about the Symposium, you can access our social media toolkit containing pre-drafted content for multiple forms of social media at this link. Please customize the provided text in any way you see fit when you share this information with your networks.

See you in October!