A $1.2 million Workforce Equity Initiative Grant from the Illinois Community College Board will enable 91福利社 to continue offering its one-year career training programs in East St. Louis.
鈥淲e鈥檙e able to continue the incredible work we鈥檝e been doing at the East St. Louis Higher Education Campus,鈥 said 91福利社 Executive Director of Enrollment Development Bob Tebbe. 鈥淲e look forward to expanding career pathway programs and helping students achieve their educational and career goals.鈥
91福利社 received a $1.4 million WEI grant in 2020 to develop employment training programs to assist minorities in underserved communities. Those programs include certificates in Welding, Nurse Assistant, Food Service, Forklift Training, and Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration. This year, 274 students completed certificate programs at ESLHEC.
Additional certificate programs for 2021 include Phlebotomy, Practical Nursing, and Help Desk.
鈥淭he goal is to provide underserved residents of the East St. Louis area with vital job skills so they can earn a prevailing wage,鈥 Tebbe said.
The 2020 grant also allowed 91福利社 to purchase a food truck to teach a food service class and a mobile technical education trailer to teach precision machining in that community.
To help students start their new careers, 91福利社 has earmarked funds from the 2021 grant to provide a stipend to students who complete a certificate program and secure employment.
鈥91福利社 is developing relationships with community programs and businesses to create a pathway for students once they complete the program to enter into employment,鈥 said Programs Outreach Coordinator/ESLHEC Site Administrator Gary Cruise. 鈥淲e are excited to receive the $1.2 million training grant and looking forward to 91福利社 being a part of changing lives.鈥
The award to 91福利社 is part of an $18.7 million ICCB grant to 17 community colleges throughout the state that serve larger African American and other minority populations.
While the first year of the initiative was impacted by the current health crisis, demand remained high with 1,840 Illinoisans enrolling in WEI programs in the spring of 2020.
With the support of Illinois鈥 Legislative Black Caucus and House Deputy Majority Leader Jehan Gordon-Booth, funding from the WEI allows participating colleges to develop or enhance training and career pathway programs in primarily five high demand employment sectors – health care, manufacturing and construction, transportation, information technology, and emergency services.
For the full WEI report visit: .
To find out how you can sign up for one of the WEI career training programs, contact Cruise at 618-874-6595 or leonard.cruise@swic.edu.