Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Facebook today with City Colleges of Chicago announced two collaborations to expand digital and technology training to students across Chicago. Facebook will support students participating in coding bootcamps through the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, and will work with City Colleges to expand its existing digital marketing curriculum and training. Both programs are expected to launch in the fall of 2018.

“Training in coding and interactive and multimedia design provides young people with 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,” Mayor Emanuel said. “I want to thank Facebook with supporting our students as they seek outlets to expand their horizons, explore their creativity and learn critical skills to succeed in today’s economy.”

“Chicago Codes and City Colleges of Chicago are doing tremendous work to make sure the people of Chicago succeed in the digital economy,” Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook Chief Operating Officer said. “We’re thrilled to support them. With their help – and the help of organizations across the country – we’re committed to training 1 million people and small businesses in digital skills by 2020. Communities everywhere deserve the support they need to continue to grow and thrive.”

Facebook will support students participating in Chicago Codes, the recently announced collaboration between the City and the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership. The scholarship will support students participating in the bootcamp and provide additional mentoring from Facebook.

Chicago Codes is a tuition-free technology development and coding academy that will launch on the southside in 2018. Bootcamps will run from 12 – 32 weeks and were designed to meet the City’s growing need for computer programmers and prepare students for careers in technology. Students will complete rigorous industry-approved curriculum, secure software development internships with local firms and ultimately move on to permanent employment. The program was made possible through a $500,000 grant from The Rockefeller Foundation and a $250,000 investment from the Mayor’s 2018 budget to offer employer-driven tech boot camps at no cost and expand employer outreach, education, and services to promote hiring based on individual skills rather than degree attainment.

Facebook is providing City Colleges of Chicago with additional curriculum support for its digital marketing courses, in addition to providing access to Facebook marketing opportunities for City Colleges students. City Colleges will be able to utilize content from Facebook's eLearning platform Blueprint to enrich the school's courses. City Colleges is launching its digital multimedia design program in the fall of 2018.

"Through Facebook's support, City Colleges students are getting a leg up on the competition as they prepare for highly sought after tech careers," said Chancellor Salgado. "I want to thank Mayor Emanuel and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg for investing in City Colleges students and recognizing the contributions they can make to Chicago's economy and our leading employers' bottom lines."

City Colleges has expanded its technology programming to include nine boot camps in cybersecurity and coding across five campuses by the end of 2018. This expansion is designed to prepare students for the workforce and connect them to opportunities for work experience. For more information about the cybersecurity and coding bootcamps, visit www.ccc.edu/techbootcamps.

CCC prepares more than 80,000 students annually for further college and careers. CCC encompasses seven colleges and five satellite sites city-wide. The City Colleges of Chicago includes seven colleges: Richard J. Daley College, Kennedy-King College, Malcolm X College, Olive-Harvey College, Harry S Truman College, Wilbur Wright College and Harold Washington College. For more information on City Colleges, or for registration information, call (773) COLLEGE or visit www.ccc.edu.

###