I attended workforceChicago’s awards breakfast this morning, where Aon, one of our College to Careers partners, was honored. Aaron Olson, Global Head of Talent Management for Aon, spoke about HWC’s and Aon’s partnership. He connected the dots between Aon’s need for talent, the Mayor’s commitment to get companies the talent they need, and the talentedContinue reading “Connecting the Dots”
Category Archives: College to Careers
Soft Skills
Nothing sets my tiny public policy heart pitter patter faster than a new article by James Heckman in the American Economic Review. October’s issue brings an article by Heckman, Rodrigo Pinto and Peter Savelyev on “Understanding the Mechanisms Through Which an Influential Early Childhood Program Boosted Adult Outcomes.” In this latest paper, Heckman and his colleagues re-visit theContinue reading “Soft Skills”
Reinventing Chicago
The Chicago Tribune launched an effort in this morning’s Sunday paper called “A New Plan of Chicago.” The paper seeks to enlist the help of “civic groups, foundations, community organizations and individuals.” They want to model their effort on Daniel Burnham’s vision laid out in 1909. They will run editorials over the next eight weeksContinue reading “Reinventing Chicago”
Skills and Jobs
Also worth a read in this Sunday’s The New York Times is Thomas Friedman’s article, “If You’ve Got the Skills, She’s Got the Job.” Two main takeaways for me are that first, jobs today require a higher level of analytical competency than in the past. Welding is the example of a job that in the past sufficedContinue reading “Skills and Jobs”
Mindset
I had the good fortune last Thursday to have a conversation with Paul Tough, author of How Children Succeed. I took the opportunity to ask him if my hypothesis in my post Tough Call is correct. That is, can we help our students develop the social-cognitive skills alongside the critical thinking, literacy, numeracy and other skills we expectContinue reading “Mindset”
HWC makes the WHB
HWC gets a big shout-out on the White House Blog of Dr. Jill Biden. The write-up is similar to the links I posted yesterday, but it is neat to see Harold Washington College mentioned under the White House header.
HWC Alum talks to Dr. Jill Biden
When I am not sitting in my office eating bon-bons, or attending District discussions, or standing in the lobby greeting our students, I sometimes get to attend really cool meetings. The most recent event was a roundtable with Second Lady of the United States Dr. Jill Biden, who among other accomplishments has been involved inContinue reading “HWC Alum talks to Dr. Jill Biden”
Business
Good news for the college. The Mayor announced on MSNBC’s Morning Joe (starting at 4:30 in the clip) that Harold Washington College would be the “professional service school” of City Colleges. He reiterated our position at the 10,000 Small Businesses graduation. Additional coverage is here at the Sun-Times. Yesterday was a good day for HWC. Thirty-sevenContinue reading “Business”
Graduation Bonus
A debate is raging right now about the correct approach to fix the struggling global economy. In Europe, the French and Greek electorate have just rejected German calls for more fiscal austerity and signaled their desire for more stimulus spending. We see a similar debate domestically as politicians advocate for more balanced budgets or more spendingContinue reading “Graduation Bonus”
Job Readiness Workshop
My professional alma mater Accenture is hosting a series of job readiness workshops. CCC has a full write-up on the event here, and I also saw a piece in the Lawndale News. The next Accenture workshop is scheduled for March 29 and will offer City Colleges students lessons on how to build a professional onlineContinue reading “Job Readiness Workshop”
Don's Desk 