Cook County and The Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership Launch Career Connector 2023

The first 2023 Career Connector in-person hiring event is scheduled for May 23 in Harvey, IL

(CHICAGO)—Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and The Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership (The Partnership) today announced the launch of Cook County Career Connector 2023. The program connects suburban Cook County job seekers with employers offering career pathway jobs and employers with a chance to meet ready-to-work job seekers. The program’s 2023 launch event will take place on Tuesday, May 23, from 9 am to 2 pm at the South Suburban American Job Center (AJC) at 16845 South Halsted Street in Harvey, IL, with support from The Partnership’s delegate agency Employment & Employer Services (E&ES).

The launch event will feature ten ready-to-hire employers prepared to speak with hundreds of pre-screened job seekers. Job seekers and employers can register at cookcountycareerconnect.org. Job seekers should bring at least 15 copies of their resume, dress appropriately, and be prepared to interview. Participating employers include the Illinois Secretary of State, the City of Markham, FedEx, and other businesses offering competitive wages and benefits.

The 2023 Program will include at least six in-person, focused hiring events, with pre-screened candidates and ten employers each. The events may feature employers from the same industry or several high-demand, high-growth industries and will be led by The Partnership’s five suburban Cook County American Job Centers (AJCs). Work to create the events begins weeks ahead of time with The Partnership staff and network completing employer and job seeker outreach, identifying and pre-screening candidates, and matching them with employers with current career opportunities. The 2023 schedule runs from late May through fall and can be found on the registration webpage.

“The County is proud to continue to invest funds to assist suburban Cook County residents in their career search and offer employers a one-stop-shop event that matches them with the skilled workforce they need,” said President Preckwinkle. “We hope to build on the success we saw last year – more than 1,200 job seekers attended our Career Connector events, and nearly a third received a second interview or conditional job offer.”

“Cook County Career Connector hiring events are important opportunities to bring together suburban Cook County businesses and job seekers, and we’re excited to host the upcoming event at our South Suburban AJC in Harvey,” said Larry Fitzpatrick, CEO of E&ES. “Under the leadership of President Preckwinkle and with our partners at The Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, these hiring events create real opportunities to get hired into family-supporting careers that strengthen our communities.”

As part of Career Connector 2022, The Partnership and its network hosted more than a dozen hiring events at suburban Cook County sites, connecting residents to quality jobs and offering employers a skilled and diverse talent pool. Cook County provides funding to The Partnership for this program through the American Rescue Plan Act funding.

“I enjoyed the Career Connector event I attended in 2022,” says Jakobee Walton, a job seeker who attended the 2002 Career Connector launch event. “The program was well organized, and I met several employers I was interested in working for. I received several offers from to the event and have been working now for over a year.”

“Cook County Health benefited from participating in the Career Connector program,” said Tiffani McDowell, Assistant Administrator, Department of Human Resources, Cook County Health. “It’s a great way to meet many pre-screened, job-ready candidates in one place. We met qualified job seekers, some of whom we referred to employment opportunities, and I would recommend other employers attend the events this year.”

The Partnership, the designated administrative agency for Chicago and Cook County’s federally funded public workforce system, the largest in the nation, creates this program. The program serves suburban Cook County residents and businesses impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The Partnership’s network of AJCs offers a range of no-cost employment services for adults, out-of-school youth, job seekers, incumbent workers (those currently employed), and employers, such as interview preparation, resume building, career planning, and more. The AJC network can be reached at 1-800-720-2515 or by visiting chicookworks.org.