Rend Lake College (RLC) hosted an Advisory Council Night, on March 21st, for local businesses, industry figures, and RLC faculty/staff to come together to discuss area needs, the curriculum, and what role the college can play in better serving its district residents. Tonya Odum, Director of Apprenticeship, Community & Corporate Education, presented to everyone in attendance, breaking up into breakout sessions. Because the audience consisted primarily of employers, Tonya presented the benefits of opening one’s business to the apprenticeship model, how easy it truly is to get setup with a Registered Apprenticeship program, and how her team is involved in every step of the process. She relayed that the RLC Apprenticeship Team will work one-on-one with businesses to develop a plan that caters to their unique employment needs. She understood the challenges employers face in maintaining a steady stream of qualified talent and how setting up an apprenticeship program will help rectify this situation.

One of the things that the RLC Apprenticeship Team has wanted to accomplish recently is improving and upgrading their relationship with area employers. Due to the nature of RLC’s relationship with area schools, it is easier to get the information out to potential students and apprentices when compared to businesses and employers. The Advisory Council was the perfect opportunity to capitalize on this identified goal. A QR code was included in the presentation that directed individuals to an Apprenticeship Interest Form to put them in direct contact with the Apprenticeship Team. Ideally, this will lead to an influx of interest and increase the connections available to the Apprenticeship Department. All told, 222 people RSVP’d to the event, and by getting this information out to employers, the department is hopeful that its footprint in the community will continue to grow.