Chicago Jobs Council warns of skills gap

Chicago's public schools have produced a problem.The Chicago Jobs Council warns:

Among the problems is the fact that about 41% of Chicago’s workforce consists of baby boomers who will be retiring in the next decade. Employers will need to secure new skilled workers. However, 46% of the city’s youth are not completing high school. A large number of prisoners, many of whom lack sufficient work experience, will also be returning to Chicago communities. And an increasing number of job seekers have limited basic skills and English proficiency.

“We can’t induce corporations to relocate here without some kind of labor force agreement. It’s not enough to have new employers bring their employees with them; we want to create jobs for Chicagoans,” says Jobs Council executive director Robert Wordlaw. “We’re facing a growing skills gap and the reason for that is that so many jobs now require a high school diploma or GED and a number of them require some post-secondary education.”

No word yet on the great Chicago comeback.