Link to theory of change and other supporting documents from our important reading.

Participants can go through a 5-week Boot-camp where they will learn….And they can also go through a longer training program…Fill this in with help from Brence and Torres.  Include NIMS certification language.

It’s easy. 

  • Manufacturing Connect: No background experience or clean record is necessary; all you need to join is be aged 14-18, have a readiness to learn, and availability to attend classes. Contact Leslye Long at llong@mfgren.org or (773) 278-5418 x 30 for more information on upcoming training and events

  • Young Manufacturers Association: No background experience or clean record is necessary; all you need to join is be aged 18-29, have a readiness to learn, and availability to attend classes. Contact Torres Hughes at thughes@mfgren.org or (773) 278-5418 x 30 to inquire about joining.

Working Together with our partners and the community, MC/YMA benefits our community and local economy thusly: 

1) Youth: gain technical and professionalism skills, individualized supports and have expanded access to career-track, economic opportunity after high school (include a testimonial link);

2) Employers: find talent to fill jobs in their companies that allow them to grow their business (include a quote from Freedman);

3) Agencies: incorporate a hard-skills, career pathway program component to their services that can lead to more sustainable outcomes for social services (include a link with supporting data);

4) Schools: ensure a higher proportion of their graduates’ secure positive placements after graduating improving the school’s performance scorecard;

5) Communities: find a higher percentage of their populations accessing family-sustaining jobs, paying taxes and contributing to improving the community.

In the Career Pathways Training Program, we serve people from ages 14 to 29.  Our primary focus is on assisting Black and Brown people.  In our other prototypes, we work with partner organizations to serve the wider communities on the south and west sides of Chicago and the southern and western suburbs of Chicagoland to promote training and economic development in the manufacturing and education sectors. In addition, we connect with organizations throughout the state and the nation for policy and program advocacy.  Link to partner organizations and institutions.

Yes.  We have a 100% job placement rate and a one-year retention rate of 80%.  Everyone who successfully completes our program will get a job in the manufacturing industry if they want one.  Link to graduation and job placement data.

Hundreds indirectly and directly.  Show performance data and include language about how we support college and other career choices, as well.  Also include testimonials from a couple of students.

List who should consider joining: Government officials, elected officials, industry professionals, students, parents, community leaders and their staff, educators, labor representatives, interested citizens, clergy, businesses, and policy experts.  Then list the benefits of joining.  Link to CMRC activities page.  Include link to “join” page.

There are dozens of very good skills training programs in the Chicagoland area.  MR, however, is the only NIMS (provide link) certified training program in city of Chicago, and we are the only organization that focuses on serving people in economically challenged communities on the south and west sides and the southern and western suburbs.  In addition, our job placement and retention numbers are among the best in the state.

No.  Students aren’t charged for completing the program.  In some cases, we even pay stipends to participate.  For more information on enrolling check out this link.

Yes, you can own a manufacturing company if you have some basic requirements.  More information about our Economic Development program.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Manufacturing Renaissance Do?

Manufacturing Renaissance is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization, founded in 1982 in effort to address the wide scale loss of jobs and its impact on communities. ​Today, our Mission is to advance sustainable development anchored in manufacturing.

We have implemented the following prototype projects to advance these ideas:

  1. The Manufacturing Connect Career Pathways Program that connects young people between the ages of 14 and 29 to 21st Century advanced manufacturing skills training and helps find career-track employment for those individuals in the manufacturing industry.  We work with many agencies and over 140 manufacturers to achieve the goals of this prototype.  Press here for performance data.
  2. Young Manufacturers Association. The YMA serves as both a network and a program for young adults, aged 18-29, who are pursuing careers in manufacturing, in-between jobs, in training or interested in starting a career in manufacturing. Through regular meetings and social events, they support one another as peers through training, transition into permanent employment, professional and life skills development, and balancing personal and work life dynamics. The YMA as a program provides services on an as-needed basis, including career coaching, wrap-around supports, employer liaison to help troubleshoot issues that come up at work, and technical training. Together, the YMA network and program are serving the untapped talent and potential that young adults specifically represent to their communities and their current or future employers.
  3. Instructors Apprenticeship for Advanced Manufacturing. IAAM was developed in partnership with the Chicago Teachers Union Foundation and the National Institute for Metalworking Skills to train the next generation of great machining instructors to be technologically, culturally, and pedagogically competent in the machine shop classroom.   
  4. Re/Cast: Advisors in Manufacturing Ownership Succession. Based on original research done by MR in 1989 and updated by the Great Cities Institute in 2018, MR initiated Re/Cast.  It is a partnership between Manufacturing Renaissance, Safer Foundation, Chicago Federation of Labor, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Chicago, World Business Chicago, Cook County Bureau of Economic Development and the IL State Treasurer. Re/Cast’s purpose is to help retain Chicago’s industrial base by arranging the acquisition of manufacturing companies facing  ownership succession by groups of employees and High Road entrepreneurs, particularly African American and Hispanic men and women.
  5. West Side Advanced Manufacturing Park. WS-AMP is a new initiative planning the development of a state-the-art mixed industry campus that will bring together workforce development, education, practical R&D, onsite advanced manufacturing, and support services to create an economic engine on the West Side of Chicago projected to create over 600 permanent jobs. Serving as managing director for the project, MR has convened a highly qualified Project Leadership Team including: Westside Forward, Safer Foundation, Chicago Impact Development Co., Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives, , and the Illinois State Treasurer.
  6. Chicagoland Manufacturing Renaissance Council.  Established in 2005, the CMRC is a network that convenes stakeholders from different sectors who support the programs and policies that expand the manufacturing sector in the Chicagoland area as a strategic vehicle for promoting inclusion, community and economic development. The CMRC consists of three committees who meet monthly or bi-monthly:  Executive Committee, Legislation and Policy, and the Ministers for Manufacturing. The CMRC organizes general membership meetings open to the public 2-3 times annually.

How can I volunteer or donate?

Please contact Erica Swinney Staley, Founder and CMRC Director for more information.

estaley@mfgren.org
(773) 278-5418 x14

How can I Enroll Someone in the Training Program? Do they Need any Special Skills or Education?

Link to theory of change and other supporting documents from our important reading.

What Kind of Training do People get in the Program?

Participants can go through a 5-week Boot-camp where they will learn….And they can also go through a longer training program…Fill this in with help from Brence and Torres.  Include NIMS certification language.

Aren’t Manufacturing Jobs Disappearing? Why Should I Consider a Career in Manufacturing?

It’s easy. 

  • Manufacturing Connect: No background experience or clean record is necessary; all you need to join is be aged 14-18, have a readiness to learn, and availability to attend classes. Contact Leslye Long at llong@mfgren.org or (773) 278-5418 x 30 for more information on upcoming training and events

  • Young Manufacturers Association: No background experience or clean record is necessary; all you need to join is be aged 18-29, have a readiness to learn, and availability to attend classes. Contact Torres Hughes at thughes@mfgren.org or (773) 278-5418 x 30 to inquire about joining.

How does your training program actually benefit the students and the community?

Working Together with our partners and the community, MC/YMA benefits our community and local economy thusly: 

1) Youth: gain technical and professionalism skills, individualized supports and have expanded access to career-track, economic opportunity after high school (include a testimonial link);

2) Employers: find talent to fill jobs in their companies that allow them to grow their business (include a quote from Freedman);

3) Agencies: incorporate a hard-skills, career pathway program component to their services that can lead to more sustainable outcomes for social services (include a link with supporting data);

4) Schools: ensure a higher proportion of their graduates’ secure positive placements after graduating improving the school’s performance scorecard;

5) Communities: find a higher percentage of their populations accessing family-sustaining jobs, paying taxes and contributing to improving the community.

Who Does MR serve?

In the Career Pathways Training Program, we serve people from ages 14 to 29.  Our primary focus is on assisting Black and Brown people.  In our other prototypes, we work with partner organizations to serve the wider communities on the south and west sides of Chicago and the southern and western suburbs of Chicagoland to promote training and economic development in the manufacturing and education sectors.

In addition, we connect with organizations throughout the state and the nation for policy and program advocacy.  Link to partner organizations and institutions.

Do Graduates of the Program Actually get Jobs?

Yes.  We have a 100% job placement rate and a one-year retention rate of 80%.  Everyone who successfully completes our program will get a job in the manufacturing industry if they want one.  Link to graduation and job placement data.

How Many People Have been Helped by your Training Program?

Hundreds indirectly and directly.  Show performance data and include language about how we support college and other career choices, as well.  Also include testimonials from a couple of students.

Why should I consider joining the Chicagoland Manufacturing Renaissance Council (CMRC)?

List who should consider joining: Government officials, elected officials, industry professionals, students, parents, community leaders and their staff, educators, labor representatives, interested citizens, clergy, businesses, and policy experts.  Then list the benefits of joining.  Link to CMRC activities page.  Include link to “join” page.

Who else provides these services and how does MR compare?

There are dozens of very good skills training programs in the Chicagoland area.  MR, however, is the only NIMS (provide link) certified training program in city of Chicago, and we are the only organization that focuses on serving people in economically challenged communities on the south and west sides and the southern and western suburbs.  In addition, our job placement and retention numbers are among the best in the state.

Does the Training Cost Anything?

No.  Students aren’t charged for completing the program.  In some cases, we even pay stipends to participate.  For more information on enrolling check out this link.

How Does Re/Cast, the Manufacturing Company Ownership Program actually work? How can I get involved if I have an interest in owning a company?

Yes, you can own a manufacturing company if you have some basic requirements.  More information about our Economic Development program.