In collaboration, Rend Lake Community College, Illinois Eastern Community Colleges, Kaskaskia Community College and Lake Land Community College will work to fill the workforce needs of our regions.

Job-seekers and area industry will soon have some extra help making career matches, with an infusion of funds to an apprentice partnership among four area colleges.

Rend Lake College and partners Kaskaskia College, Lake Land College and Illinois Eastern Community Colleges will receive the 2021 Apprenticeship Expansion Grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to expand existing apprenticeship programs in manufacturing occupations in the Southern Illinois region.

With grant funding, Rend Lake College and its partners will be able to expand apprenticeship programs and help business partners in the region further develop existing registered apprenticeship programs. The funds will support the tuition of registered apprentices and enable establishment of apprenticeships at businesses which might not otherwise be able to offer an earn-while-you-learn program.

Apprenticeships allow students to take college coursework and learn from on-the-job experience with an employer in their field of study, with the goal of full-time employment.

“Apprenticeships give students the chance to actually do the work of their chosen field while working toward their credential,” said RLC President Terry Wilkerson. “It’s a win for both the student and the business. The student gets an education and a job in their field of interest, and the employer gets a new employee with the skills they need.”

Rend Lake College has been an approved Department of Labor sponsor for registered apprenticeship programs since May 2018, and since that time has become an approved employer sponsor with the U.S. Department of Labor for 19 registered apprenticeship occupations. The college also works closely with other Southern Illinois community colleges to help establish apprenticeship programs in their districts.

The original apprenticeship grant focuses on the manufacturing sectors of Industrial Maintenance Mechanic, Machining, Welding, and Production Technologist, for which Rend Lake College is an established intermediary.  Rend Lake College with Partner Colleges are looking forward to adding registered apprenticeship occupation programs and blurring the Colleges’ district lines for students and businesses.

Kaskaskia College’s primary focus of apprenticeships has been on the Industrial Automation, Maintenance and Technician programs as well as Certified Nursing Assistant, and support also has been garnered to include welding occupations. Lake Land College’s Center for Business and Industry offers a variety of customized training and employee development programs to regional employers, with offerings such as customer service, leadership, professional development courses, software education and several others in its state-of-the-art mobile Manufacturing Skills Lab. Illinois Eastern Community Colleges has worked in developing apprenticeship programs since partnering with the Illinois Consortium for Advanced Technical Training in 2015, and is an employer sponsor for the Mechatronics Technician program.

For more on apprenticeships, visit www.rlc.edu/apprenticeships.