Chicago Career Tech is one of the first of its kind in the nation, organizers said, targeting workers such as mid-level managers, teachers and personal bankers who lost their jobs during the recession. Traditionally, there has been a gap in assistance programs for such white-collar workers, organizers said.
"This is a middle-class recession," said Rita Athas, president of World Business Chicago, a public-private partnership that serves as the city's economic development arm. "Most programs are geared toward low-income residents, but if you are white-collar, middle class, there are probably no programs specifically geared to that group."
Many of the workers lack technological skills that would allow them to compete for "jobs of the future," said Marie Lynch, the program's executive director. The initial class will focus on health care technological skills and information technology — the field with the most job openings in Chicago right now, she said.
"If you look at the top 33 job posting categories in Chicago, information technology and health care are ranked No. 1 and No. 2," said Lynch.
