ICCB provides nearly $19 million to address unemployment for African Americans in Illinois
Illinois’ Workforce Equity Initiative aims to increase workforce opportunities for African Americans in Illinois through workforce training and education. Richland Community College will receive $960,170.
The Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) has granted $18.7 million dollars to community colleges throughout Illinois to help address education and unemployment gaps in the African American and other minority communities. The funding will be used across 17 community colleges throughout the state that serve larger African American populations under Illinois’ Workforce Equity Initiative, now in its second year. Richland Community College received $960,170.
“We know there is great demand for accelerated occupational training programs like the ones offered through the Workforce Equity Initiative. This money will support so many African American Illinoisans by not only providing free training programs that will turn into solid paying jobs but also by providing a wide range of wraparound services to address basic needs like childcare and transportation,” said ICCB Executive Director Brian Durham.
Richland’s EnRich Program has benefited from the lllinois’ Workforce Equity Initiative and is a prime example of how these free training programs can change lives by connecting individuals to employment and livable wages, resulting in stronger communities. EnRich completers are 64% minority, with 57% classified as African American, 79% male and 43% African American Male. A total of 89% of EnRich participants who completed the program were hired by major local employers. Of those, 80% remain employed.
Dr. Cristobal Valdez, President, said “Even we have been a bit surprised by the extremely high levels of completion and employment persistence that have resulted from the EnRich program, and we are dedicated to continuing these and other training programs that we believe can exact positive change for both the participants and the communities Richland serves.”
Rev. Courtney Carson, Executive Director of External Affairs and director of the Enrich Program, added “I believe EnRich has been successful because we are committed to diversity, inclusion, and equity. Our EnRich Programs are designed to produce well-rounded and well-trained employment-ready individuals that can grow with the local companies that employ them.”
While the first year of the initiative was impacted by the current health crisis, demand remained high with 1,840 Illinoisans (78% African American) enrolling in the spring of 2020.
With the support of Illinois’ 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.
In 2021, the initiative is being expanded from 15 to 17 local colleges with new participants Kaskaskia College in Centralia and Richard J. Daley College in Chicago. A full list of grantees is below.
College of Lake County
$1,199,724.50
Illinois Central College
$1,200,000.00
Joliet Junior College
$1,194,438.76
Kaskaskia College
$589,364.67
Kennedy King College
$1,200,000.00
Lincoln Land Community College
$1,200,000.00
Malcolm X College
$1,199,931.87
Olive-Harvey College
$1,200,000.00
Parkland College
$1,199,989.48
Prairie State College
$1,051,774.66
Richard J Daley College
$829,011.40
Richland Community College
$960,170.00
Rock Valley College
$1,200,000.00
South Suburban College
$1,200,000.00
Southwestern Illinois College
$1,200,000.00
Triton College
$1,046,224.66
Wilbur Wright College
$1,029,370.00
The development of the WEI Consortium was developed to address an Illinois Community College Board report, which found that minorities, particularly African Americans, were severely underrepresented among Career and Technical Education (CTE) program graduates.
According to the report, in 2019, minorities accounted for approximately one out of three, or 37%, of all CTE course completers and African Americans accounted for just one out of ten or 12%. The ICCB report highlighted the need to fund a targeted initiative that promotes workforce equity for minorities in high demand sectors.
Given the CTE programs provide opportunities in high demand areas to address skills gaps in the workforce, the WEI Consortium can play a pivotal role in increasing access to training and credentialing opportunities that lead to gainful employment for underrepresented populations.
Richland Community College’s Enrich Program has earned a great deal of recognition receiving the 2019 Illinois Council of Community College Administrators Innovation Award, the Decatur Regional Chamber of Commerce Award for Business Expansion of the Year and was selected as a top 10 Bellwether Awards finalist in the Workforce Development Category.