Scale LIT

💻 Building Digital Confidence and Community

Over the past year, scaleLIT partnered with the Aspire Center for Workforce Innovation and Comcast NBCUniversal to expand access to digital literacy and strengthen digital equity in the community.

Through this initiative:
✨ 25 learners engaged
✨ 108 hours of digital learning completed
✨ 95 Northstar assessments passed
✨ 95 digital badges awarded

Participants built skills in computer basics, email, Microsoft Office, career exploration, cybersecurity, and more — while gaining confidence using technology in everyday life and work.

Read more about the partnership and program impact here: www.scalelit.org/blog/aspiredigitalclasses

☀️ Join us for the scaleLIT Member Summer Potluck!

As we move into summer, we’re looking forward to gathering with members and partners from across the network for an afternoon of food, conversation, and community.

This annual potluck is a chance to connect outside of meetings and trainings, reconnect with colleagues, and celebrate the relationships that continue to strengthen adult education, workforce development, and digital equity work across Illinois.

We hope you’ll join us!

👉 Register here: https://ow.ly/r28i50Z4nQP

🗣️ Join us June 11 for the next LWIA 7 Workforce System Partner Meeting at Harper College!

This quarter’s conversation will explore the growing impact of artificial intelligence on workforce development, digital equity, customer access, and future job readiness across our region.

We’re bringing together leaders from workforce, education, and digital equity spaces for a timely discussion on how we can prepare our systems — and our communities — for emerging technology trends while keeping people at the center of the work.

Featured panelists include:
• Michael Matos, scaleLIT
• Kyla Williams Tate, Cook County Digital Equity
• Sasha Ongtengco, Creative Workers Arts Alliance Illinois
• Annabel Hasty, Harper College
• Moderated by Michael Thompson, Cook County Bureau of Economic Development

Topics include:
✔️ AI in workforce and education
✔️ Digital equity and accessibility
✔️ Upskilling and reskilling opportunities
✔️ Human-centered service delivery
✔️ Preparing workforce systems for the future

These quarterly meetings continue to strengthen collaboration, partnerships, and resource sharing across the LWIA 7 workforce ecosystem.

We look forward to seeing our partners there — and encourage you to share with colleagues across your network.

Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership

🔗 https://ow.ly/GHyW50Z0iYr

🎥 Digital literacy is more than learning technology — it’s building confidence, telling your story, and creating new opportunities.

Through the Cook County Digital Equity IMPACT Grants Program, participants strengthened essential digital skills while developing personal digital stories that reflect their goals, growth, and career journeys.

This learner spotlight from classes hosted at American Job Center at Truman College highlights how digital access and hands-on support can help adults build confidence in today’s digital world.

Watch the story here:https://youtu.be/Le1uUAKkcko

👫👭👬 We’re proud to support our members through coalition meetings and networking opportunities that help organizations stay connected, share resources, and strengthen services for adult learners.

This month, we’re featuring Nathaniel VanWienen from Ethiopian Community Association of Chicago, who shared how scaleLIT’s literacy coalitions provide “a regular and reliable checkpoint with other providers for sharing referrals and best practices.”

These connections help build a stronger, more coordinated adult education ecosystem across Chicago and Illinois.

👉 Learn more about scaleLIT membership: scalelit.org/members

⏰ Save the Date: June Systemwide Meeting focusing on the impact of AI in Workforce.

Join scaleLIT as we bring together partners from across the public workforce system for our next in-person Systemwide Meeting.

These quarterly gatherings are a space to share resources, strengthen partnerships, and align strategies across the American Job Center network in Chicago and Cook County.

Hear directly from leaders across the field, connect with partners, and be part of the work shaping a more coordinated and responsive workforce system.

🔗Registration link: https://ow.ly/lLVP50YW5Or

Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership

🧠 May is Mental Health Awareness Month — and scaleLIT is continuing the conversation.

Join us for upcoming trainings designed to build practical skills and support well-being across our network:

• Conflict Resolution Training (May 13)
• Stress Management & Mindfulness (May 14)

These sessions offer tools to navigate real-world challenges, support others, and strengthen community care provided by Sertoma Star Services.

👉 Learn more and register:
(May 13) https://scalelit.disco.co/share/o/T2NjdXJyZW5jZTozNzE3MzIxODQ3MjkzOTgwNDQy
(May 14) https://scalelit.disco.co/share/o/T2NjdXJyZW5jZTozNzE3MzIyMDg0Nzc3NzcxOTIw

💻 From the classroom to the field—advancing digital literacy at every level

At scaleLIT, our work to expand digital literacy happens every day inside the American Job Center network—and across the broader field.

At the AJC in Pilsen, our team is supporting learners with hands-on digital skills training, helping participants build confidence using computers, navigate online tools, and access new opportunities.

That same on-the-ground expertise is what we bring to the field.

Recently, Ed Tech Director Michael Matos and Career Pathways Navigator Germania Solórzano presented at Ready 26: Digital Communities in Action at Northeastern Illinois University’s El Centro, leading a bilingual session on AI and digital skills for over 30 participants.

From local classrooms to regional conversations, we’re committed to advancing digital equity and ensuring adult learners have the tools they need to succeed.

Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership
National Able Network
Chicago State University
Northeastern Illinois University

The City of Chicago’s Committee on Immigrant & Refugee Rights, chaired by Andre Vasquez, invites you to join the next Immigration Briefing.

This monthly series keeps City Council staff, nonprofit organizations, and community stakeholders informed on federal immigration policy changes and their impact on Chicagoans.

📌 Tuesday, May 12th at 1:00 PM
💻 Virtual (Zoom link shared after registration)

👉 Register here: https://airtable.com/apptcXPABExyfK1gs/pagOldZbbA0MbHaec/form

Participants are encouraged to submit questions in advance related to federal immigration matters.

🚶‍♀️ Sometimes workforce development looks like showing up and walking alongside someone — literally.

Recently, a scaleLIT Employment Specialist accompanied a participant in our Employment & Income project to a job fair at Richard J. Daley College.

This moment reflects what our work is all about: person-centered, long-term support that meets people where they are. For job seekers navigating significant and often complex barriers, progress is built through trust, consistency, and step-by-step support.

Employment specialists work hand in hand with participants over time — helping them explore goals, prepare for opportunities, navigate setbacks, and stay connected throughout the employment journey.

Sometimes the work is a resume. Sometimes it’s a conversation. Sometimes it’s walking into a job fair together.

And all of it matters. 💙

All Chicago E&ES Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership