The recent downturn has hit especially hard those who are already at the bottom of the economic ladder. The Fry Foundation continues its commitment to invest in strong job-training programs that combine education, skills training targeted to specific industries, and support during the long, tough search for work.

Unemployment in both Chicago and Illinois made headlines when it passed 10 percent last spring, but for some sectors of the population— those with poor education, little job experience, and/or a record of incarceration—rates have long been well above that level. For over fifteen years, Bill Leavy and his colleagues at Greater West Town Community Development Project have used a combination of industry knowledge, good relationships with employers, solid training and supportive services to train and place exactly such people. Now, with the economy struggling, they're still getting the job done, though it's taking a little longer than before.

Located in an old plumbing factory that is part of the industrial corridor just north and west of downtown Chicago, Greater West Town offers training in Woodworking and Shipping & Receiving for approximately 100 students a year. Both programs are carefully constructed to meet the needs of local industries. The Woodworking program got started in 1993 after research identified a niche of local companies making furniture, cabinets, and musical instruments that needed a small but skilled workforce. Students spend fourteen weeks learning workplace math, carpentry, and skills for handling solid surfaces such as granite and Corian. They build cabinets and pick up the basics of occupational safety and job readiness.

Greater West Town's other program targets the huge warehousing and shipping sector, and is similarly tailored to meet a specific need: training students on the computerized inventory control system developed by UPS that is now the industry standard. Students start with the basics—packing, shrink-wrapping, operating forklifts—then move on to the computer skills. "The screen they see in the classroom—that's the same screen they'll see on the job," says trainer Mike Redmond.

Integrated into both programs is remedial education focused on workplace math and technical vocabulary—what Leavy calls "a contextualized curriculum." Greater West Town also provides a broad array of supportive services, everything from the standard resume-writing and interviewing skills to referring students for help with health problems and homelessness. "One young man lost his job and then his apartment," says client services director Linda Thomas. "He was riding the train all night, embarrassed to tell us. He started getting sick, and finally we got him to tell us what was going on. We were able to secure housing for him. He has since completed training and is now employed full-time."

Greater West Town historically has an exemplary placement record: 80 percent of students complete the program; 85 percent of graduates land related jobs, at an average wage of $9.60 an hour; and nearly three-quarters remain employed for at least one year. This year, the job market is more challenging here as everywhere; still, of 14 graduates in Shipping & Receiving last May, 12 had landed jobs by mid-August. About half the Woodworking students had managed to find work; so Greater West Town secured funding for temporary jobs working on its own projects (including a long-planned new office space) to keep them employed as they continue to search."Placement rates will be the same," says Leavy confidently, "but the time to placement will be longer."

Greater West Town is currently exploring the growing "green jobs" arena. Once again it is looking for the niches where it can craft a training program that creates a pipeline directly to jobs—jobs with a solid future.