Giving Compass' Take:

• Aspire is a Chicago-based nonprofit that helps children and adults struggling with developmental disabilities and need extra support. The CEO redesigned their job training program that will better prepare individuals for six different job sectors. 

• What are the challenges of creating stronger workforce development programs? 

• Here are six lessons on improving workplace training and job placement. 

Aspire, a Chicago-based nonprofit that provides services for children and adults with developmental disabilities, was founded in 1960. When Jim Kales came on board as CEO around a decade ago, he found himself frustrated with the nonprofit’s job-training program. “It was very bespoke and one-at-a-time,” he tells Fast Company. Aspire’s new Career Academy—a 10,000-square-foot facility 20 miles west of downtown in Oakbrook–will do just that.

The Harry and Jeannette Weinberg Career Academy provides comprehensive training and job-readiness prep for careers in six sectors: Warehousing and distribution, big-box retail, office and IT, culinary, hospitality, and fitness center administration.

He wanted to develop a new job-training system that would allow Aspire to place more people in roles, and also allow the nonprofit to solidify relationships with hiring companies in the Chicagoland area.

At any given time, the Academy has the capacity to train around 100 people; previously, they could manage no more than 20. “It’s a market-based approach that gives us access to, essentially, 50% of the jobs in the Chicago area,” Kales says. While the old bespoke approach offered more latitude in terms of choice, the Academy, he adds, will deepen the quality of the training offered, and act as a trusted pipeline to local employers.

Read the full article on preparing people with disabilities for jobs by Eillie Anzilotti at fastcompany.com