July 26, 2012 – To better help prospective and current students quickly learn what skills and credentials are required to win the jobs of the future, City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) today launched a redesigned version of its website’s CareerFinder feature. CareerFinder, located at ccc.edu/careers, offers new user-friendly features to connect students to information about high-growth industries, including entry-level salaries, prospects for growth, and CCC credentials aligned to those career paths.
Students can filter potential career paths by starting salary ranges, required education levels, and industry. The partial redesign, which also gives greater prominence to campus events on individual college homepages, was inspired by a series of focus groups CCC held with City College and CPS high-school students earlier this year, and an analysis of web traffic data since City Colleges’ completely redesigned website launched in December 2011.
“Our site will continually evolve to meet the needs of current and future students,” said Arshele Stevens, City Colleges Vice-Chancellor of Information Technology. “We will continue with these types of improvements to ensure they make informed decisions in pursuit of their educational and professional goals.”
The redesigned CareerFinder feature focuses on industries that are projected to grow significantly in the Chicago region during the next decade, including healthcare, information technology, and transportation, distribution and logistics (TDL). City Colleges is launching new and revised certificate and degree programs aligned to the needs of many the industries as part of its College to Careers initiative, which initially focuses on the healthcare and TDL industries, and business and entrepreneurship. New programs available this fall include an advanced certificate in supply chain management and a basic certificate in computerized medical billing and coding.
Launched by Mayor Rahm Emanuel in December 2011, College to Careers aims to equip City Colleges students with industry-recognized credentials that prepare them to secure jobs in high-growth sectors.
As part of the College to Careers program, partner businesses are working directly with City Colleges faculty and staff to revamp the curriculum, design new facilities, provide internships and give students the opportunity to interview for jobs in high-demand fields. City Colleges has announced it will construct a $251 million new campus for Malcolm X College, including a healthcare academy, and a $45 million Transportation, Distribution and Logistics facility at Olive-Harvey College. More information is at www.ccc.edu/menu/Pages/college-to-careers.aspx.