A free training program aimed at preparing people for union apprenticeship is expanding into Kane County with a location in Aurora.
HIRE360, partnering with Painters District Council No. 30 and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, will begin its Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program in Kane County on April 7, according to a news release announcing the expansion. The nine-week, state-funded program is designed to strengthen the construction workforce pipeline.
“This initiative is about opening doors and keeping them open,” Jay Rowell, executive director of HIRE360, said in the news release. “Participants will gain practical training, real-world experience and direct connections to the building trades that translate into long-term opportunity. By the time they complete the program, they have the credentials, confidence and industry support needed to thrive throughout their careers in construction.”
The Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program will take participants through structured training, offer them site visits to registered apprenticeship programs, prepare them for entry tests and provide them with industry-recognized credentials such as OSHA-10, First Aid/CPR and Fall Protection Awareness, the news release said.
Not only is the program free, but participants will also receive a stipend, according to Rowell. There are additional resources to help participants move into a trades program, such as helping to purchase their first set of tools or boots, he told The Beacon-News.
The program is going to be housed in the Painters District Council No. 30 building, at 1905 Sequoia Drive in Aurora, where the union will do hands-on training, Rowell said. HIRE360 will also have staff on-site to teach things like resume writing, interviewing skills and other subjects like math to help participants pass trades’ aptitude tests, he said.
Although the Painters are “very interested in bringing on a number of these candidates,” Rowell said the curriculum taught at the program is designed to help people get into any of the various building trades.
To be eligible for the program under federal law, a person needs to have a high school diploma or GED, be at least 18 years old and be authorized to work in the United States, according to Rowell. But the “key ingredient,” he said, is for candidates to know they like working with their hands.
“If you like working with your hands, you like building stuff, then we can help you with the skill sets to be successful in the apprenticeship,” Rowell said. “That’s exactly what this program is designed for.”
The program will run only once in Aurora this year. More information, including the opportunity to register for a virtual information session, is available at: hire360chicago.com/kane-county-il-works/
HIRE360 is a “unique non-for-profit partnership” that brings together some large developers, general contractors and trade unions, Rowell said. It launched in the Chicago area in early 2020, he said, but has recently expanded its training programs statewide due to state support.
The organization has been running an Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program out of its Chicago location for a couple of years, and it recently expanded into Joliet, according to Rowell. So, he said the next “natural step” was to expand into Kane County through Aurora.
“There’s just a lot of great opportunities and a lot of work that’s going on in the area,” he said.
Since launching in 2021, the program has enrolled more than 6,000 individuals across Illinois, the organization’s news release said. Referencing data from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the organization’s officials said that approximately 80% of participants complete the program and that over half move on to registered apprenticeships or employment in construction and the trades.
HIRE360’s pre-apprenticeship program is partially funded by the Illinois Works Jobs Program Act, according to the news release. Illinois Works was designed to increase equity and opportunity in capital construction as the state invests billions of dollars in these types of projects over the coming years, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s website says.
Specifically, the state of Illinois is helping fund the program in Kane County with just over $260,000, an amount recently announced by state Rep. Barbara Hernandez, D-Aurora.
Two other organizations in the area, Lewis University and the Quad County Urban League, also got state funding as part of the Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program in amounts of $550,000 and $330,000 respectively, the state representative’s news release said.
“The hardworking people who call Aurora home are the reason why our community continues to grow,” Hernandez said in her news release. “I applaud Governor Pritzker and the DCEO for continuing to invest in the future of Aurora’s growing workforce.”
rsmith@chicagotribune.com
