Chicago youth hope to find work at 100,000 Opportunities Initiative job fair

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Thousands of Chicago's young people headed to a massive job fair at McCormick Place on Thursday, hoping to secure work.

About 4,500 job hopefuls pre-registered for the 100,000 Opportunities Initiative kickoff event - even more walked in.

The nationwide program aims to connect 100,000 unemployed youth with jobs by 2018. Nearly 30 U.S.-based companies teamed up to offer positions to applicants between the ages of 16 and 25 who are not currently in school. The collaboration is led by Starbucks. Participating companies include Hyatt, J.C. Penney and Potbelly.

"Hopefully they'll end up with job opportunities - if not, they'll walk away with a lot more knowledge about how to move forward in today's society," said Ralph Hughes, Macy's vice president of government and public affairs.

Many of the young people attending the job fair had on-on-one interviews with recruiters. Others attended workshops on resume writing, interview skills and attending college.

"All summer I've been looking for a job, but it's been really hard because I don't have as much experience working," said Lizeth Gonzalez, an applicant.

Devyn Givan wants to finish college and have his own business someday. But most recently, he was among the young men looking for work in Chicago.

"Everybody either neglected me or didn't respond," Givan said.

Givan apparently made a great impression, as he was later offered a job at Starbucks.

"I think it's cool, I can't wait, ready to start working and get on my own," Givan said.