EAST PEORIA, Ill. – The latest batch of students to make a commitment to an apprenticeship in central Illinois signed on the dotted line Thursday.
Illinois Central College hosted a ceremony at the Performing Arts Center for the 68 students starting apprenticeships through their program. The ceremony also recognized 19 students who completed an apprenticeship.
The students are going into fields that include manufacturing, healthcare, and information technology, and signed up with employers that include Carle Health, Caterpillar, and Liberty Steel.
ICC says Thursday’s signing ceremony was the largest-ever since the program began in 2019. Executive Director of Workforce Operations Paula Nachtrieb the apprenticeship program has grown a lot in that same timeframe.
“We’re started with 0 people in our organization, we now have 4 dedicated apprenticeship employees, and we now have entered into the healthcare arena last year,” Nachtrieb said.
The college says 214 apprenticeships have been facilitated with 40 different employers since 2019, with an average 30% growth each year. ICC also notes that the program has a 77% completion rate, which increases to 86% when adding students currently on track to complete the program.
