Daniel Cervantes (CLA’16): Shaping Chicago’s Employment Future

Daniel Cervantes (CLA’16) has always had a personal connection to the work he does with Skills for Chicagoland’s Future. His experiences growing up and living in Chicago during the Great Recession provided him with a firsthand understanding of how much a person’s career choices can affect their entire life. 

“I did not grow up in an affluent neighborhood myself,” Cervantes said. “Having access and connections to the right individuals, whether it’s the ability to go to college or to get my first job opportunity, I didn’t have those access points.”

Now, in his position as Senior Vice President of Programs, Cervantes works to partner with businesses to identify talent and/or develop career pathways for Chicagoland residents, specifically the unemployed and underemployed. After completing the six-month Civic Leadership Academy program (now part of the Center for Effective Government), Cervantes approaches his work with a newfound appreciation for humanity and vulnerability in leadership, qualities that are often put aside in today’s workaday culture.

Cervantes began working with Skills for Chicagoland’s Future ten years ago when the organization was just a concept and initially launched as a training program. Concerned by the mass exodus of Chicago’s residents following the Great Recession, Cervantes and others looked for a way to help.

They developed three areas of focus for their organization. First, they offer direct placement services, helping the unemployed and underemployed find work. Second, they leverage their job preparedness and career exploration curriculum to help other nonprofits and for profits with their training programs. Finally, they foster what Cervantes calls “thought leadership and strategic growth,” which is the consulting side of their business. 

When the recession hit, Cervantes saw his father lose his job. He watched him struggle to find the next step given his age and where he was in his career. It was then that Cervantes realized the significance of someone’s career – even socially.

“I realize how much value there is when somebody says ‘I work here’ or ‘I work there.’ It’s a part of your identity,” he said. “It brings value to who you are and the work that you do.”

Cervantes wanted to take action to help those struggling like his father did.

One of the greatest challenges Cervantes sees in helping the city is getting employers to untap potential and have conversations around job qualifications. And he questions the importance of some requirements, such as background checks or educational requirements.

“Is education for a particular job more important than a stackable credential?” he asked.

He works to make employers consider how these requirements may be unintentionally putting a barrier in place.

Another issue Cervantes cares deeply about is wage disparity. He said the people in Chicago need sustainable wages, or at the very least, a  job that they can develop a career in. With Skills for Chicagoland’s Future, Cervantes works to develop pathways and ensure that people can be successful. 

In order to do this work, however, Cervantes knew he needed a broader understanding of how government institutions and other nonprofits functioned in the city, which led him to apply for CLA.

His experience with CLA gave him insight into how public policy could impact individuals trying to change their career trajectories. He also learned how to bring together government leaders and nonprofits with common goals. The intellectual, open setting also allowed the cohort members to get to know each other as people, not simply as government officials or nonprofit directors. 

“The common theme was always that respect and appreciation for the city in which we work, live, and play,” he said.

Cervantes said bringing together a group of smart, motivated, civic-minded individuals allowed them to collaborate and amplify the work they are doing. 

And collaborate, he has. Since completing the program, Cervantes has worked with Julio Paz (CLA’ 16) while he was with The Resurrection Project (TRP) to evaluate how Skills for Chicagoland’s Future can share job opportunities directly with the community of Pilsen that TRP serves. He has also collaborated with Bob White (CLA’ 15), an executive at Cara Chicago, on various projects from job seeker referrals to strategic initiatives.

In addition to collaboration, another important takeaway for him was learning how to be vulnerable, even as a leader. He said that because of how he grew up in his culture, he thought vulnerability was a sign of weakness and something he was not supposed to show. CLA changed this perception.

“It was important to humanize our work,” he said. “It was important for me to be open and allow myself to be truly vulnerable, because people will be inspired and will want to follow if they can relate, if they have an appreciation for why you do the work that you’re doing.”

He admitted that he was hesitant and pushed back against this idea when he began the program. By the end, however, he realized how important that element of leadership is. 

After the program was complete, Cervantes said he felt that he had grown in many ways. He is pursuing an MBA and continuing to expand the work of Skills for Chicagoland’s Future.

He still traces his drive for this work back to his childhood; his hope is that by continuing with this work, he will be able to improve the lives of many others who live in the Chicagoland area.

Cervantes said, “I know the opportunities that I’ve missed out on in the past and I wanted to be part of something that was going to change than dynamic.”