City boosts IT jobs in Chicago
Posted on March 27, 2018
The expansion of certain camps is boosting IT jobs in Chicago.
The city announced the expansion of technology programming with seven bootcamps in cybersecurity and coding across six campuses by the end of 2018.
“Expanding these technology bootcamps gives students the opportunity to learn the language of the future, sharpen their minds and develop the skillsets needed to compete and win in the 21st century,” said Mayor Emanuel. “City Colleges is preparing students to enter the workforce as in-demand, highly-skilled professionals, and I look forward to watching as they continue to thrive and succeed in Chicago’s blossoming tech community.”
Each technology bootcamp is approximately six months long, with evening classes twice a week and on Saturdays. Wright, Kennedy-King, Daley and Malcolm X Colleges will host cybersecurity bootcamps and Harold Washington, Kennedy-King and Truman Colleges will host coding bootcamps in iOS. The bootcamps will accept approximately 145 students by the end of 2018.
“The growth of our iOS and cyber security boot camps will offer more Chicagoans the opportunity to prepare for family-sustaining careers in the high-demand IT field, and will further position City Colleges as a go-to talent source for Chicago’s dynamic tech industry,” said City Colleges of Chicago Chancellor Juan Salgado.
The City Colleges bootcamp with Apple, in its pilot stage, will prepare students with the coding skills necessary to create and publish apps for iPhone and iPad and sell them on the App Store, where US app developers have earned over $16 billion in sales. It is free to selected participants, chosen based on demonstrated interest in coding, previous technical training or experience, familiarity with iOS, ability to commit to 12 hours per week and a desire to start a career in this field. The first bootcamps will start in April at Kennedy-King and Truman Colleges, and expand to Harold Washington in September.
Once students have completed the program, they will have access to internships and work-based learning opportunities with City Colleges partners including 1871, GE Transportation, IBM Watson Education, Jellyvision, Accenture, McDonalds, Rush University Medical Center, Razorfish, Ulta and United, among many others.