From JB Pritzker:
Governor Pritzker Awards More Than $19 Million Through the Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program
Illinois e-News Release
Governor Pritzker Awards More Than $19 Million Through the Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program
Grant funding supports the state’s continued effort to build a pipeline of talent and increase access to good-paying jobs for historically underrepresented populations
CHICAGO – Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) today awarded more than $19 million in funding to 38 program recipients serving 1,900 community members statewide to expand the Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program. The program creates a qualified talent pipeline of diverse candidates in the construction and building trades.
The Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program launched in 2021 with the goal of increasing diversity and access to apprenticeship programs in well-paying fields. Comprehensive pre-apprenticeship programs help participants gain admission to apprenticeship programs, which provide a greater opportunity to obtain employment in the construction trades and secure a lifelong career.
“The greatest resource we have is the hardworking people of Illinois, and the greatest return on investment we have is training and educating them,” said Governor JB Pritzker.
“That’s why workforce development has been a centerpiece of Illinois’ economic agenda for the last six years and why we’re constantly attracting high-quality jobs to Illinois—because we have the skilled workers to fill them.”
The Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program was specifically designed to increase access to good-paying jobs in the trades for historically underrepresented populations.
Through Illinois Works, DCEO is expanding its statewide network of providers to recruit, prescreen, and provide pre-apprenticeship skills training. The program providers also offer important support in building structured pathways and managing the program graduates’ transition from the pre-apprenticeship program to a full apprenticeship program in the construction and building trades.
Participants of the program attend tuition-free and receive a stipend and other support services to help enter the construction industry. Upon completion of the program, pre-apprentices receive industry-aligned certifications, which prepare and qualify them to continue to a registered apprenticeship program in one of the trades.
Signed into law in 2019, the Illinois Works Jobs Program Act is designed to promote diversity, inclusion, and use of apprentices in state-funded capital projects.
The Act created three major programs:
- the Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program,
- the Illinois Works Apprenticeship Initiative, and
- the Illinois Works Bid Credit Program.
Together these three programs aim to create a talent pipeline of skilled and diverse candidates to fill new job opportunities created by the $45 billion Rebuild Illinois capital plan.
