Neighborhood News

Published September 26, 2019 By Justin Kerr

Local students got their hands dirty this summer learning valuable and fundamental job skills through ComEd's Tools of the Trade program, a seven-week course taking place at the ComEd Training Center at 3536 S. Iron St.

McKinley Park neighborhood resident Phillip Chavez graduated alongside his peers in the program that puts tools and training in the hands of young people looking at careers in the trades.

"I'm interested in this," Chavez said. "I want to work on the smart grid."

The Tools of the Trade program has been underway since 2015, said Mark Falcone, ComEd's vice president of support services. It's designed to provide baseline skills toward a trades career with companies like ComEd that are always seeking skilled workers.

"There are some phenomenal careers," Falcone said. "A four-year degree isn’t the only way to secure a high-paying job."

On-Site Experience

A Tools of the Trade student plays through a virtual reality training simulation at the ComEd training center.Tools of the Trade instruction includes a swath of exposure across a variety of disciplines: In addition to hands-on experience with the safe operation of power tools and hand tools, students also engage with robotics, solar projects and applying mathematics in the energy industry.

Getting experience with field operations is another part of the program, as students observe and network with ComEd employees who engage with the real-world environments built throughout the training center.

"We get to go out and open and close fuses," Chavez said. "Going up on the man lift is very cool."

After School Matters

The Tools of the Trade Program is conducted in cooperation with After School Matters, a Chicago-based non-profit that has enabled development programs for hundreds of thousands of local teens. “It’s important that we give our youth every opportunity to find their future in any career path they choose,” said After School Matters CEO Mary Ellen Caron. "We are proud to partner with ComEd."

"The partnership with After School Matters is a key element of the program," Falcone said.

Class of 2020

Chavez said that he first heard of Tools of the Trade through his sister Sarah's participation in it the year before, and he decided to sign up. Sarah Chavez has since continued her hands-on engagement as a builder, including participating this summer in ComEd's Icebox Derby, which engineers old, recovered refrigerators into wacky racing vehicles.

The Tools of the Trade program has been highly successful, Falcone said, and ComEd plans to continue it, as well as launch another program outlet at its training center in Rockford, Illinois. Any interested students between 16 and 18 years old can get more information and apply by sending email to externalprograms@comed.com.

In addition to an initiative that "gives more visibility to trades," the program is a buttress against personnel issues, Falcone said. “Our Tools of the Trade program is designed to help address the shortage of workers in the skilled trades."

Students and others who wish to take a peek at ComEd's extensive training center can do so at the upcoming Open House Chicago: ComEd Training Center event on October 19, when the center opens its doors to the public as part of Open House Chicago.

Eleven local teens celebrate their graduation from ComEd's Tools of the Trade program taking place over the summer of 2019.