Chicago Public Schools and the mayor’s office created the Chicago Connected program to provide internet access to families in need during the COVID-19 pandemic. Finding that student families needed to build computer literacy and job skills to be competitive in the job market, Chicago Connected partnered with Coursera to provide access to multilingual content that helped learners gain job-relevant skills. The pilot program was successful, with 100 percent of participants saying that they’d continue taking Coursera courses. In the future, Chicago Connected will introduce Coursera learners to American Job Centers, which is part of the U.S. Department of Labor.

By offering Coursera to student families, Chicago Connected has seen:

• 100 percent of families enrolled in Coursera’s trial program wanted to continue taking courses to advance their skills.
• Families completed roughly 2,060 learning hours, with popular courses covering project management, office productivity software, bookkeeping, and collaborating in Google Workspace apps.
• As learners earn professional certificates and complete foundational courses, community workforce development partners can connect them with job opportunities.

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