SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Laura Ellman (D-Naperville) passed a measure out of the Illinois Senate that would increase access to community college apprenticeships and develop apprenticeship programs in new, non-traditional sectors.

“Education is economic development,” Ellman said. “When workers have the training they need for good jobs and businesses are able to find qualified talent to fill positions, everyone is better off.”

Fifty-three percent of Illinois jobs require more than a high school degree but less than a four-year college degree, yet only 43 percent of Illinois workers are trained at that level.

“Expanding access to apprenticeship programs and creating apprenticeships in new sectors will help ensure Illinois workers are trained for jobs of the future and ensure businesses aren’t struggling to find qualified employees,” Ellman said. “Funding education and apprenticeship programs is an investment in our future.”

Senate Bill 2122 would create a grant program to allow for the funding of apprenticeships at each of the 48 community colleges, allow for the recruitment of new partnerships across traditional apprenticeship fields and emerging fields and provide community colleges the resources to engage in curriculum development, oversight and evaluation.

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