Inside the Black Box - Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago

Provide Business Services to Engage Employers
Some of the organizations in the study build relationships with employers by offering business services,
such as incumbent worker services or customized training. These efforts often help create new
relationships, strengthen existing relationships between programs and business, and create additional job
opportunities for participants. One program noted that they offer small business classes within the
community and do technology assessments for small businesses as ways to get their foot in the door with
employers, who they hope will then provide job placements.
These services signal the level of trust the employers place in the workforce training organization, and the
confidence they have in their abilities to teach necessary job and technical skills. A few organizations
stressed the role incumbent worker training had in developing and establishing this trust:
[Incumbent worker training] probably was more important in the evolution of [our program] because
it was initially how many of the employer relationships were established… So there’s a lot of things
on our incumbent worker business services end that kinda gets us in the door with employers, and
then we can start talking about our job seekers… It’s nice, too, when we’re working with a company
and we’re going out and customizing a training for them, and our job developer can go with and just
kind of start talking about our job seekers and what their capabilities are, and that sort of thing.
Employers Volunteer with Programs
Many organizations have deep relationships with employers that go beyond job placements and business
services and engage employers as volunteers, board members, and even funders of the program. A vice
president from one organization acknowledged:
The level of our relationship with the companies—I mean, sometimes it’s extremely deep so it goes
beyond just placement, it’s also they volunteer here… they’re a major funder for our organization and
they have a training program that we have set up with them.
Volunteer activities include guest teaching, conducting mock interviews, and serving as tutors. One
manufacturing program noted that some of their employers generously donate raw materials, such as
scrap metal and machinery, to the program. Employers view their engagement with the workforce
programs as a social responsibility and a way of doing something for their community. A few of the
programs in the study formally track this type of engagement by maintaining spreadsheets that record
such activities.
Another workforce organization maintains a business leadership council, where employers review
program curriculum and play the role of evaluator, helping to further develop the program and look for
the next growth opportunities. Employers from these businesses also help advise on the training
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