Elgin tech company helps adults get back to work

Adam Bauer, 32, has a background in computer-aided design, but after being laid off from two jobs — one doing CAD work in the construction industry — he decided it was time to change careers.

Bauer, of South Elgin, has recently moved into the IT field, accepting a work training opportunity at 4M World Technologies. The small business is participating in the Quad County Urban League’s Adult and Dislocated Worker Employment Program with funding from the Kane County Department of Employment and Education.

The pairing is good for both the Elgin company and Bauer, who appreciates the full-time work, guaranteed for six months.

“Right now with the economy and with changing my career, this gives me the opportunity for gaining experience,” Bauer said.

For Xavier Montemayor, CEO of 4M, it means an enthusiastic new member of the office whom he can guide and shape before taking the bigger step of formally hiring him.

Montemayor moved his business from Schaumburg to Elgin over the summer and ultimately plans to hire at least five people from the group in the work training program. The company is focused on bringing new technology products to Latin American countries like Mexico and Chile.

Trainees are being hired on both the marketing and technology sides of the business.

Mariano Cutuli, 24, is getting his master’s degree at Judson University in organizations and leadership after finishing his undergraduate degree in business administration and marketing.

Cutuli is studying in Elgin and is originally from Buenos Aires.

While Bauer works on information technology over the next six months, Cutuli will work on marketing, cleaning up the presentation of the Spanish materials used for outreach in Latin America.

Pay is between $12 and $14 per hour for the training program, and Montemayor said he is guaranteeing at least $16 per hour for the people he decides to hire.

For Cutuli, new to the labor market, those wages are reasonable while he is in school.

“I have to be realistic,” Cutuli said. “It’s my first experience in the real business world.”

Elvira Gallegos, 51, is less enthused about the wage because she is used to making more for her graphic design work, but she said she has to pay the bills and looks forward to using her skills while working with a startup company.

The federally funded Workforce Investment Act helps similar programs across the country.

Four more adults will start at 4M next week and Montemayor is still looking for another handful to round out the team.

Applicants must be underemployed or unemployed and meet certain eligibility requirements.

Contact Julia Willis at the Quad County Urban League at (630) 851-2203 for more information.