The Chicago Community Trust has announced seven grants totaling more than $2.5 million in support of workforce training and inclusive employment opportunities.

Awarded through the foundation’s We Rise Together: For an Equitable and Just Recovery initiative, the grants will help local nonprofits provide workforce training, job training, and support services with the potential to eliminate employment barriers for Black and Latinx people. Recipients include the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, which will use the funding to hire staff, train new partners, and deploy a mobile unit to expand workforce services; Revolution Workshop, which will provide construction skills training for non-union work as well as wraparound services to ensure job placement and retention; the Chicago Urban League, which will focus on job-readiness training, and placement and retention services in emerging and high-growth industries; HIRE360, which will expand strategies to encourage greater diversity in Chicago trade unions; and Instituto del Progreso Latino, which will focus on workforce training for Latinx job seekers interested in medical professions.

“With the influx of federal resources to make critical investments in our infrastructure we have an opportunity to eliminate barriers and pave a path to a more inclusive and thriving workforce,” said We Rise Together director Gloria Castillo. “Increasing access to education, skills development, and career advancement will broaden opportunities for workers of color to contribute to and benefit from our recovery efforts.”

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