Addison Workforce Development Committee continues to provide opportunities to benefit District 88 students and community members

On Nov. 21, the Addison Workforce Development Committee met to continue its efforts of assessing the needs of local employers and providing opportunities for potential employees to develop the skills to meet those needs.

The committee is comprised of the Village of Addison, College of DuPage (COD), District 88 and local businesses, and the focus of the group is two-fold:

  1. Collaborate to provide opportunities to train students and adults for jobs available in the area (as well as offer programs such as internships and job shadowing)
  2. Develop a directory of local businesses (including contact information, open positions and skills employees need to have)

To help meet those goals, the committee has hosted two job expos (one this past May and the second this past September). During those events, participants were able to meet face to face with local employers and submit their résumé. Those in attendance also were invited to an interview readiness seminar led by COD, during which COD staff and Addison Trail students helped participants create a résumé. The committee is now working to coordinate tours and job shadowing opportunities for District 88 students at SWD Inc. and The Cary Company.

During the Nov. 21 meeting, Dr. Omar A. Ghrayeb, Acting Dean with the Northern Illinois University (NIU) College of Engineering and Engineering Technology, and Jeff Cohn with Energy Systems Group shared how NIU could partner with and help expand the committee’s services to further benefit the community and assist in preparing students and adults for the workforce through education and training. The goal is to connect Project Lead The Way and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) initiatives and classes at District 88, COD's dual-credit offerings in STEM-related studies, NIU’s academic pathways to STEM-related degrees and Addison’s technical job opportunities.

For more information about the Addison Workforce Development Committee, contact Mary Heneghan at the Village of Addison at 630-693-7510 or mheneghan@addison-il.org.