Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) announced that Career Launch Chicago, a new collaborative initiative between CPS, CCC, the City of Chicago, and business, has secured its first round of partners committed to creating youth apprenticeship opportunities for young Chicagoans. Career Launch Chicago is focused on creating work-based-learning opportunities for CPS students that will connect them to college pathways and careers in the areas of information technology, manufacturing and healthcare. Starting in 2020, Career Launch Chicago will recruit students for a pilot cohort of 50 apprentices, with a goal of growing the initiative to 1,000 apprentices by 2024. Unique to this apprenticeship model will be the engagement of employers who commit to creating paid on-the-job training opportunities for apprentices in order to help meet their talent needs. Employers interested in joining Career Launch Chicago can contact info@CareerLaunchChicago.com. Career Launch Chicago is a member of, and receives financial support from, the Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship (PAYA) Network – a learning community designed to link dynamic partnerships that work to launch, expand and improve apprenticeship opportunities for high school-aged youth. Career Launch Chicago receives additional financial and technical support from Apprenticeship2020, a Chicago-based collaborative of philanthropies set up to help grow apprenticeships in nontraditional fields.