Follows recommendations by Chicago Federation of Labor study on city's manufacturing sector

Chicago – The Chicago Public Schools’ Board of Education approved Wednesday the plan for the Austin Polytechnical Academy to offer high school students in the West Side the opportunity to obtain the education and skills necessary to enter the high-performance, high-reward manufacturing workforce in Chicago.

The school plan was assembled by the Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance Council (CMRC), a partnership between labor, business, education and government entities, as a response to a 2001 study commissioned by the Chicago Federation of Labor (CFL) and conducted with the Center for Labor and Community Research.  The study, “Creating a Manufacturing Career Path System in Cook County,” addresses the need for a better system of preparing individuals for a successful career in manufacturing.

“The Chicago Federation of Labor is proud to see the recommendations made in the study move one step closer to coming to fruition,” said CFL President Dennis J. Gannon.  “Austin Polytech will offer a major boost to the Chicago manufacturing industry as well as the West Side community in need of well-paying jobs with benefits that high-performance manufacturing can provide.”

There are approximately 400,000 manufacturing jobs in the Chicago-area.  Forty percent of the workforce, however, is expected to retire in the next 10 years.  As the study points out, there is a gap between the current workforce and the next generation due to a lack of resources providing training for these highly-skilled manufacturing jobs.

“I commend the hard work of Dan Swinney, Executive Director of the CMRC, and all the members to carry out this innovative plan to fill the gap between the need for skilled workers and the work skill levels of residents in our communities,” added Gannon.

“This is a well-thought out plan that taps into the expertise from leaders in a number of fields,” said Jorge Ramirez, CFL Secretary-Treasurer and co-chair of the CMRC.  “Our communities and local economy will benefit tremendously when Austin Polytech opens its doors.”

The school will share space at the Austin High School building when it opens next year.  Austin Polytechnical Academy is a performance school, not a charter school, and has the support of the Chicago Teachers Union.