Diana Peters, Symbol, Inc.
Symbol Job Training, Inc. (Symbol) provides effective, hands-on training within the advanced manufacturing field that puts its clients on a path for skilled, financially self sustaining and highly in-demand careers. Since 2005, Symbol has served as the leader in the local manufacturing workforce system by serving as the conduit for improving our clients lives by up-skilling them and serving the local employers with a qualified work ready workforce. Symbol has made significant contributions to the economic viability in the local workforce area by being a reliable source of talent for the industry as well as helping the underserved individuals overcome their economic obstacles.
Symbol focuses on people in the greatest need of marketable skills training including those with significant barriers to employment such as dislocated workers, people with low incomes, veterans, those for whom English is a second language and others. Symbol works diligently to connect with employers, maintaining a network of over a hundred manufacturers throughout Cook and the collar counties in which its clients are placed for employment after they complete training. The school regularly networks with business and industry leaders in manufacturing, who provide Symbol with valuable guidance and feedback to ensure that its programs are fulfilling the industry’s need for skilled labor. Symbol has its roots in the manufacturing industry as a tool and die shop founded in 1985. As a result Symbol is familiar with the “real world” standards needed and required by employers. More importantly, Symbol knows and understands the needs of manufacturers and how to train and prepare students for the industry. Symbol is #1 ranked NIMS credentialing provider in the nation, accounting for 25% of all credentials in Illinois.
- 2013 — 214 placements out of 237 graduates
- 2014 — 284 placements out of 311 graduates
- 2015 — 250 placements out of 282 graduates
- 2016 — 172 placements out of 194 graduates
The average wages from 2016 were approximately $14.09
Symbol is committed to providing education that will serve as an avenue for professional success. Its faculty give pertinent analogies, design realistic practice exercises and keep student interest levels high. Symbol’s goal and philosophy is for its clients to be job ready by providing them with a real working environment and experience. Upon completion, clients have adequate experience to allow them to obtain a position in the manufacturing industry.
As modern manufacturing increasingly becomes technology-based, its demand for skilled workers grows. Company-sponsored skills training programs are costly, and even large manufacturers have recently closed or scaled them down due to funding cuts and the tight economy. At the same time, manufacturers’ skilled workforces are rapidly retiring, and there are not adequate numbers of people in the pipeline to fill the current gaps, let alone those that are imminent. When manufacturers have unfilled jobs, the impact can be devastating on businesses and their surrounding communities, causing costly delays and threatening layoffs and closures. Symbol has worked directly with the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership and its partners agencies for years, serving as the Manufacturing Sector Center for all of Cook County due to our expertise as well as serving as a Career Pathways grantee. In doing so, Symbol has broadened its scope and positively impacted thousands of clients in the area.