The Less Traditional
Take on Higher Learning for Adults
SEPTEMBER 27, 2017
By
Kiersten Tomson
Back to
school may mean new kicks and fresh pencils for the kids, but more grown-ups
are grabbing their laptop bags and heading to class.
A new
crop of professional workshops, classes and seminars are popping up across
Chicago for adults and attendance is spiking.
“People
are coming in to get a great deal of career support and advice,” says Howard
Tullman, CEO of 1871.
“And these are not by and large 20-year-old complexion challenged, young white
men; they are a cross a very wide spectrum of ages, we have a very diverse
population.”
1871 is
known for its incubation, co-op working space for startups and entrepreneurs
but the hub also hosts hundreds of events that are open to public – for free.
“Those
are educational programs, panels, presentations,” lists Tullman. “They
focus on all of the aspects of starting your own business, dealing with new
technologies, dealing with the city.”
It’s
not only taking the next step for your business or company, but it’s taking
that next step to guarantee your job.
“I
think that people who are 50 and up are more at risk today,” explains
Tullman. “Kids are the digital natives; the people who are 50 and up need
to be basically upskilled and if they are not, they are going to be very hard
to employ going forward. It is not like they are going to retire at the
age of 55, they are going to be in the workforce for a long time. They are
feeling increasingly insecure so we are seeing some of them coming back here,
to get those skills.”
Comcast
is working to keep those skills flowing by keeping 1871 plugged in and online.
“The
most important part is not just reliability but responsibility,” says
Tullman. “Comcast has been very responsive and frankly, when you have two
thousand people in 500 businesses dependent on the Wi-Fi and the assistance
that we have here, you can’t go down.”
Sunshine
Enterprises is another organization focused on building
entrepreneurships in Chicagoland.
“We are
basically identifying entrepreneurs in some of the disinvested neighborhoods in
the city and we are training those entrepreneurs, connecting them to
opportunities, whether it be the marketplace or networking and then we are also
coaching them throughout their business management process,” explains Shandra
Richardson, Development and Communications Associate.
From
restaurant to nail salon owners, these adults go through a 12-week program
called the Community Business Academy or CBA which covers the basics like
developing a plan, how to reconcile your taxes, where to certify as a minority
business owner, etc.
“The
CBA curriculum is really fundamental it is not at all advanced, but it’s
advanced enough to allow you to be really able to run your business the way it
should be run,” explains Richardson.
The CBA
is held a dozen times throughout the year – sometimes with more than 60 cohorts
graduating at once.
“About
80% of them – maybe has a two year college degree at the most, single mother,
black woman, that really is looking to entrepreneurship to just add some
supplemental income,” says Richardson. “If those people can open, start a
business…that will start to catalyze the economic activity in those communities
that desperately need it.”
Another
spot is the Duman Entrepreneurship Center, which is under
the umbrella of the Jewish Family and Child Services of Chicago.
The
Center was created in 2001, funded by an endowment provided by Highland Park
philanthropist and entrepreneur Louis Duman.
“He was
a Detroit native who grew up in Chicago,” explains Director Kenny
Smilovitch. “Lou was a ‘raging success’, who never forgot that a
charitable gift of $300 helped his father’s clock shop stay afloat during the
Depression.”
The
center, located in the Loop, offers primer and accelerator programs, workshops,
loans, advising and mentorship for professionals who are looking for an extra
edge.
“We
give access to provide entrepreneurs with socioeconomic challenges the support
to help minimize risk and make informed business decisions,” explains
Smilovitch.
Plus,
the center works in helping underserved populations and with an in-house loan
fund, they can support startups which may not be able to get traditional
financing.
These
three Chicago spots offer free workshops and classes year-round, so there’s
plenty of opportunity to become a student once again.