Discovery Partners Institute (DPI), CVS Health and technology services firm Interapt announced a new partnership that seeks to prepare thousands of Chicagoans for lucrative tech jobs. The program, Chicago/Skills, will provide tuition-free technology training and paid apprenticeship opportunities to as many as 2,500 people over five years.  Individuals who pass the 12-week training curriculum and interview process will be offered a job. CVS Health has signed on to be an anchor employer of the effort, committing to hiring more than 200 successful participants over the next three years in the Chicago market. Computer and information technology are among the fastest-growing careers in the United States, with demand for these jobs expected to grow by 16 percent from 2018-2026. In Illinois, computing-related jobs make up roughly half of all STEM jobs — three times more than any other STEM field. But not everyone has equal access to opportunity: Black and Latinx workers make up just 12 percent of Chicago’s tech workforce overall, and in 2020, only 14 percent of computer and data science graduates statewide were Black or Latinx. This partnership gives Chicago residents an opportunity to develop the technical skills needed to kickstart a new career in data science, software development, digital marketing, UX design, robotic process automation, information technology, and other tech-related fields. Interested individuals can learn more and apply via the DPI website.