The National Able Network is a workforce training organization based in Chicago that assists jobseekers and those unemployed through a variety of training and employment programs. The group was founded in the 1970s to provide employment opportunities to senior citizens, with ABLE originally being an acronym for “Ability Based on Long Experience.” The group has received grants from state and local governments to operate programs and has also received funding from a variety of community organizations, foundations, and left-of-center and right-of-center groups including the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, United Way of Metropolitan Chicago, and the Center for Economic Progress. ^{1 2 3}

Background and History

The National Able Network was organized in 1977 as Operation ABLE (Ability Based on Long Experience) and was formed through a grant from the Chicago Community Trust intended to place older workers into “meaningful employment positions.” Between 1977 and 1980 the group formed senior employment agencies in the Chicago area and established assistance and training programs for employment agencies and established local networks of senior employment agencies. ³

In the 1980s, the group expanded nationwide and throughout Illinois. The group began a direct service program under Illinois’ Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) after receiving funding from the Cook County Board of Commissioners. The group also received funding from the Illinois Department on Aging to operate its federal Senior Community Service Employment Program. By the mid-1980s, the group had opened eight offices nationwide. ³

The group continued to grow in the 2000s and was rebranded as the National Able Network from Operation ABLE in 2003. The group’s revenue grew from under $5 million to nearly $30 million in the 2000s and the group established the Able Career Institute, which is certified by the Illinois Board of Higher Education and opened a new headquarters called the Chicago Workforce Center. ³

In the 2020s the group shifted to embracing “equity” centered programming stating that “National Able Network is particularly focused on programs and partnerships that invest in worker training, build accessibility, protect the vulnerable, and provide equitable opportunities.” ³

Equity-Focused Programming

Beginning in 2019, the National Able Network began to embrace left-of-center diversity, equity, and inclusion ideology (DEI) and began to publish content on “equity barriers in the workforce system” among other topics. The group’s website has shared content regarding the controversial left-of-center 1619 Project and articles titled “This is the Biggest Mistake People Make with Microaggressions at Work” and “The Language of Inclusion.” ⁴

The group states that “National Able Network engages in active and evolving Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion practices each day. Our work and service to communities is strengthened by the value of diverse cultures, lived experience, and economic prosperity.” ⁴

As part of the group’s equity focus the group also stated that it “eliminated the use of widely used, but overly onerous assessment tests that provided little information about their skills and abilities.” ⁵

Funding

Groups that have funded the National Able Network include Heartland Workforce Solutions, the Center for Workforce Innovations, the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, Center for Economic Progress, National Asian Pacific Center of Aging, Franklin Education Forum, Koziol Family Foundation, Debicki Foundation, the Call Of Duty Endowment, Pritzker Military Foundation, Silverberg Family Foundation, Dr Scholl Foundation, Leola Culver Family Foundation, Lloyd A Fry Foundation, and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. ¹

1. “National Able Network.” Nonprofit Explorer Full Text Search. Query Conducted November 2, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/full_text_search?form%5B%5D=IRS990PF&form%5B%5D=IRS990ScheduleI&page=3&q=%22national+able+network%22&sort=best&submit=Apply
2. Depass, Dee. “Minnesota launches new grant program to train people for tech jobs.” Minnesota Star Tribune. March 7, 2023. Accessed November 2, 2024. https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-launches-new-grant-program-to-train-people-for-tech-jobs-deed/600256842
3. “About.” National Able Network. Accessed November 2, 2024. https://www.nationalable.org/about/
4. “DEI By Day.” National Able Network. Accessed November 2, 2024. https://www.nationalable.org/dei-by-day/
5. “EQUITY BARRIERS IN THE WORKFORCE SYSTEM.” National Able Network. Accessed November 2, 2024. https://www.nationalable.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Able_Equity_4Pager.pdf