While COVID has hit the pause button on so many opportunities for our high school students, CTA is helping provide a path for CPS high school students to pursue architecture-, construction- and engineering-related careers through CTA’s historic Red and Purple Modernization (RPM) Phase One Project.
On Wednesday, November 18, CTA, RPM contractor Walsh-Fluor and the ACE Mentor Program hosted ACE Trades Day with CPS, a virtual event that introduced students to the trades and future career opportunities. Over 30 students attended the event in which they got to see testimonials from tradespeople working on the RPM project on what it is like to work in construction and how they got their start in the industry, as well as ask questions in real time. From the beginning of the project, RPM has been about making a better future for all Chicagoans, including Chicago students, and this effort is another way CTA hopes to break down barriers for students to pursue their career dreams.
CTA, Walsh-Fluor and ACE plan to host another one of these virtual events later in the school year. For more information about ACE and the RPM Phase One Project, please see below.
Currently, COVID-19 is challenging individuals who are looking for training and workforce opportunities as unemployment rates rise. Recognizing a need, now more than ever, for workforce development resources, CTA is hosting webinars connecting local job seekers to construction industry opportunities.
As part of its workforce development efforts for the Red and Purple Modernization Phase One Project, CTA has been hosting a series of webinars called Construction Talks to connect participants to training and workforce opportunities in the construction industry during COVID-19. This virtual program was developed in direct response to the pandemic to ensure that while social distancing measures are being implemented individuals still have access to workforce development resources.
Each webinar provides apprenticeship details and a Q&A portion for the attendees to ask questions in real-time, as well as virtual tours of the hosting organizations, which include workforce assistance and community organizations and government agencies. CTA has hosted five webinars with over 150 attendees collectively.
The next two Construction Talks will take place on Friday, June 26 at 12:00pm and Friday, July 10 at 12:00pm. Links to the registration pages are below –