The Apprenticeship Illinois Expansion grant is being utilized in East Central Illinois to build the capacity of the education, economic, and workforce development system in the Economic Development Region (EDR) to support the expansion of apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships among job seekers and employers.

Through community engagement, the Apprenticeship Navigator brought together three community colleges and two local workforce areas that led to the development of an Apprenticeship Coalition among Parkland College, Danville Area Community College, Kankakee Community College, Vermillion County Works, and East Central Illinois workNet.

Stakeholders from these five partners joined together in Quarter 4 of 2022 to share best practices; discuss challenges faced by employers; identify DEI strategies for economically disadvantaged populations; determine approaches on how to help employers and job seekers connect to apprenticeships; and set goals to increase apprenticeship programs, regional capacity, and the success of apprentices. After this conversation, the Coalition members committed to completing an apprenticeship survey to provide a snapshot of the economic development region. The survey is now completed.