The modernization at Daley marks the fourth major College to Careers capital project at CCC since 2011, building on the work to outfit Olive-Harvey College as the city’s hub for education in transportation, distribution and logistics, a dedicated child development lab space underway at Truman College, City Colleges' Center for Excellence in education, human and natural sciences, and following the completion of the new health sciences campus at Malcolm X College.
"We are making unprecedented investments in City Colleges to prepare our CPS graduates, who are graduating at a higher rate than ever before, for the next step of a 21st century college education,” said Mayor Emanuel. “With nearly 40 percent of Chicago's students enrolling in college today, it is critical that they have access to a college education that will prepare them for the growing job industries of today. With a new state of the art manufacturing center at Daley College and other investments to strengthen our City Colleges, we will unlock thousands of opportunities each year for our students to seize the jobs that are being created right here.”

Over the next decade, an estimated 14,000 manufacturing jobs will be coming to the Chicagoland region. The Daley College project is one lever in the Mayor’s agenda to ensure Chicago has a skilled workforce to meet the growing demand in the advanced manufacturing industry.  
"By concentrating our resources, talent and partner relationships at each of our Centers of Excellence, we are delivering best-in-class programs in high-demand career fields while responsibly using taxpayer dollars,” said Chancellor Cheryl L. Hyman. “The new Daley College advanced manufacturing center will ensure that our students are prepared with the skills to compete in the increasing technology-driven manufacturing field and all Daley students will benefit from a new students services bridge, housing tutors, advisors and more.”  

City Colleges will work with the Public Building Commission to oversee the construction of the $75 million manufacturing center. This project will bring the total capital investment by City Colleges of Chicago since Mayor Emanuel took office to more than $500 million, adding capacity to serve an additional 3,800 students each year in the new Daley Center for Excellence. To be built on City Colleges-owned land to the south of 76thstreet, the 105,000 square foot Daley advanced manufacturing center is being designed with input from City Colleges’ College to Careers faculty and industry partners and will replace several temporary structures that have housed the manufacturing program for decades.  CCC will also work with industry partners, including UI Labs, to help inform what goes into the facility and programmatic planning.

The addition will also include a 30,000 square feet bridge that will straddle 76th street, linking the main Daley College building with the new manufacturing center so that students can easily access a central one-stop shop for student services, including tutors, advisors, registration, testing, disability access, wellness, and other supports.  
The advanced manufacturing center will provide students access to state-of-the-art equipment to solve real-world problems, and will dually serve as a quality control testing site for small to mid-sized area local manufacturers.  

“Manufacturing companies like ours are looking for employees with a command of welding, quality control and root cause analysis, and the simulated environment in Daley’s new advanced manufacturing center will give students a head start on developing the manufacturing and critical thinking skills that we look for in successful employees,” said Kathleen Dudek, Dudek & Bock Spring Manufacturing Company, a City Colleges College to Careers partner and 70-year old metal fabrication company with 211 employees, located on the west side of Chicago. As it did with the $251 million Malcolm X College School of Health Sciences, completed on time and on budget in January, City Colleges will set community participation goals for the remainder of project as follows: MBE: 25 percent, WBE: 7 percent, and worker participation: 40 percent Chicago residents, 12 percent community residents, 30 percent minority trade workers, 7 percent female trade workers, and 5 percent City Colleges alumni/students.

CCC will work with the Public Building Commission (PBC) to manage the construction and completion of the project on time and on budget. PBC has a strong track record in designing and building educational facilities that are equipped to serve students in safe, technologically equipped, and environmentally friendly setting that will accommodate a 21stcentury education. PBC is set to approve its work on the project during their June board meeting.

Through College to Careers, launched by Mayor Emanuel and Chancellor Hyman in 2011, City Colleges faculty and staff partner with industry leaders to design curriculum and facilities and offer internships and job opportunities to ensure Chicagoans are ready to hit the ground running in fast-growing fields.   
Since the launch of its Reinvention in 2010, City Colleges has more than doubled the graduation rate, awarded the highest number of degrees annually in its history, increased the transfer rate by nine percent, and placed more than 3,000 students in jobs and internships in a College to Careers field.