Employment | Success | Community

	Branch Services CET is also located in an Urban Empowerment Zone. Clusters of distressed census tracts containing a full range of land uses including: residential, commercial, industrial, and recreational areas. The training facility is fully accessible to public transportation (blue line train and CTA buses). Also located blocks away from the congress expressway, there is ample parking space for those who would like to drive

CET's training facility consists of 18,000 sq. feet, housing two Medical Assistance classes, along with a Building Maintenance and Business Office Technology course. Vocational and job-skills training are provided on this site as well as externship sites.

The demographic make-up of Chicago has changed dramatically. The 2000 census indicated that like many older cities, urban areas within the US, have increased in minority populations. With the growing number of minority people entering the workforce, the need for initiatives to better serve this community has become overwhelmingly significant. Many individuals with limited job skills often face low economic living conditions and a reliance on government subsidies, thus, the need for the valuable vocational training that CET offers is quite beneficial to a vast number of individuals. In offering these necessary skills and training, individuals can become economically stable as well as self sufficient. CET assures that our students will not only become marketable, but also well equipped to compete in the job market.

CET Chicago has served Cook County for some 9 years and has repeatedly demonstrated its capacity to serve hundreds of students each year; current student enrollment is approximately 160 student/clients in daily attendance.

Locally, we have maintained an average placement rate of 86% during most of our years of service to Cook County.

The Chicago CET office offers training programs for a variety of skills including:

• Business Office Technology
• Building Maintenance
• Medical Assistance
• Vocational ESL

Counseling, job development and administrative services are also located within Homan Square.

Classes are Monday thru Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

CET's Center Director, Marie Pickett, has been with CET for the past 5 years. Ms. Pickett currently serves as a Job Training Task Force committee member for Congressman Danny K. Davis, while also serving as a committee member with the Spanish Action Coalition. Prior to her work at CET, Marie worked at Workforce Development for 18 years as a Supervisor. She obtained her Bachelor's degree in Business Administration at Northeastern University.

CET students train 5 days a week, 7 hours day, at their own pace. They are required to attend Skills and Job Training until they pass competency levels of a minimum 70% in a given skill. Students are trained by highly skilled and motivated instructors who have extensive private sector industry experience by which they provide instruction and work-place simulated supervision. Instructors work in teams to provide a contextual learning environment for each student whereby students are prepared for long-term job placement.

CET, a non-profit 501(c)(3), has received funding support from two primary sources: over 50% from local, state, and federal government and the remainder from the private sector.