Mariano’s Names Mayor Emanuel And President Preckwinkle’s ‘Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership’ As A Local Hiring Partner For Chicago-Area Grocery Stores

The Partnership will play a major role in Mariano’s talent acquisition strategy Mariano’s, a subsidiary of Roundy’s Inc., a leading grocer in the Midwest, today named the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, the second largest public workforce system in the U.S., as a local hiring partner for its store locations in Chicago and neighboring suburbs. Under the joint leadership of City of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, the Partnership administers more than $50 million in federal, public, and private funds; serving more than 140,000 job seekers and hundreds of businesses annually. “Mariano’s continues to demonstrate its commitment to communities across the City of Chicago,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “The Partnership’s leadership in workforce development and job placement will provide an important economic engine for those seeking employment while ensuring residents have access to fresh, healthy food options.” By the end of 2014, Mariano’s will have 29 stores in the Chicago metropolitan area and 10,000 plus team members. The Chicago Cook County Workforce Partnership will play a key role in placing Mariano’s team members at various locations across Mariano’s City of Chicago and suburban Cook County locations. Those positions range from entry-level to managerial in all departments including: wine and spirits, bakery, and deli; and store director positions. “The Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership has been a great resource for Mariano’s human resources team and our overall talent acquisition efforts. The agencies that we work with under their umbrella have been great partners in helping us grow our exceptional customer-focused Mariano’s team. We appreciate their support and look forward to a long-term partnership as we continue our growth in the Chicago metropolitan market,” said Jess Terry, Group Vice President – Human Resources, Roundy’s Inc. “The Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership is an excellent resource for our local job seekers as well as businesses. This collaboration with Mariano’s demonstrates the great strides we are making to support job creation by wisely using our publicly funded resources,” said President Preckwinkle. “The number of businesses that realize the value of working with the public workforce system is increasing and I applaud Mariano’s for choosing to work with the Partnership.” Given the volume of anticipated hires, Karin M. Norington-Reaves CEO of the Partnership, immediately activated the agency’s Business Relations team; its network of 49 workforce development agencies; including ServiceWorks, the region’s hospitality and retail sector center, as well as other partners to assist with recruitment and training efforts. Additional services include initial screening and training/certifying individuals in food sanitation and safety. This engagement also anticipates the provision of retention support once candidates are placed in employment. “Our strategic focus on high growth/high demand industries allows us to invest our dollars in and align our services with business needs,” said Ms. Norington-Reaves. “Mariano’s primary focus is to hire people with backgrounds in hospitality and or culinary arts we have access to talented and skilled workers to provide a great fit.” An additional benefit of the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership is its capacity to provide partners with low cost training resources and access to pre-screened work ready candidates. Launched in 2012, the Partnership consolidates the city and county’s workforce resources creating access for job seekers and business across the Chicagoland region.