Chamber launches initiatives to grow talent, connect employers with workers
ROCKFORD — The next evolution of the Rockford Promise program is designed to take students from the classroom to the workforce.
A new paid internship will connect Rockford Promise scholars to local employers. The nonprofit, which provides tuition-free higher education to qualified Rockford high school graduates, will partner with The Workforce Connection and Greater Rockford Chamber of Commerce to align students with local businesses. Goodwill Industries will serve as the employer of record to remove an administrative barrier for businesses that don’t have established internship programs.
“This is really an expansion of the promise that Rockford made to those students,” said Gina Caronna, president and CEO of the Workforce Connection. “We promised to get them educated. We promised to support them through that education, but now we’re going to promise to help them find jobs and stay here.”…