MEDIA CONTACT:
Valerie Welsh
Illinois Central College
Chief Public Relations Officer
Phone: (309) 694-5440
Email: PR@icc.edu
Media Resources: http://icc.edu/news/media-resources/
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — UPDATED November 4, 2015 (Original release October 12, 2015)
ILLINOIS CENTRAL COLLEGE HOSTS INAUGURAL
NATIONAL APPRENTICESHIP WEEK EVENTS NOVEMBER 2-6
Illinois Central College will host several activities November 2-6, as part of the inaugural National Apprenticeship Week. The week is set aside to promote the impact apprenticeship opportunities have in the training of the 21st century workforce and to gain support for President Obama’s goal to double the number of available apprenticeships in the United States.
The College will highlight its partnerships with area employers to create middle-class jobs in high-demand fields such as manufacturing, healthcare and IT, and to encourage other local businesses to support and offer apprenticeship opportunities to students. Area legislators and representatives from local community organizations also will be invited to several of the events during the week.
“ICC is pleased to host this week’s events to bring awareness to the community on the importance of apprenticeships in building a well-trained, ready-to-work labor force,” said Dr. William Tammone, ICC interim president.
“Apprenticeships not only benefit the students by providing real-world, hands-on experience, but they are proven to diversify the workforce, standardize training and improve productivity and profitability for participating business partners. While this week focuses on the national initiative, we stand to learn from the success seen in several European countries where apprenticeship opportunities are abundant.”
The week’s activities kick off with a Meet and Greet on Monday, November 2, in which students enrolled in the first-in-the-nation Associate of Applied Science degree in Secure Software Development at ICC will have an opportunity to meet participating apprenticeship employers Caterpillar Inc., CEFCU, Facet Technologies, OneFire and Ishpi Information Technologies.
On Tuesday, November 3, ICC will host a leadership briefing and interchange to share and discuss information about apprenticeships for minorities and women in the areas of manufacturing, healthcare and IT. The purpose of this event is to share and discuss information about apprenticeships for minorities and women in the areas of manufacturing, healthcare and IT. The event is co-sponsored by Peoria Public Schools, CareerLink, Greater Peoria Economic Development Council, PCCEO, Southside Community United for Change, METEC Housing Counseling Resource Center, Tri-County Urban League, Local Incentive Support Corporation (LISC), Black Business Alliance, NAACP, and Apprenticeship USA, as well as other organizations. The goal is to find ways of sharing best practices to enhance minority recruitment into apprenticeship programs nationwide.
On Wednesday, November 4, key groups at the college will meet to strategize best practices for apprenticeships and communicating the value of these opportunities through a unified vision.
On Thursday, November 5, the focus will be on military veterans. This event is a call for action to increase participation of veterans in high-demand professions in manufacturing, healthcare and IT sectors. There will be a moderated panel discussion to leverage the experiences of VA campus counselors and others to discuss successful strategies of securing pathways to middle class jobs for veterans. Veterans will have the opportunity to work with ICC Career Services staff to develop a winning resume, learn ways to search for apprenticeships and hone interviewing and networking skills.
The week’s activities will conclude with a CEO Roundtable, “Apprenticeships: Developing Workforce Potential to Compete Globally”, on Friday, November 6. Chief executive officers and chief IT and human resources administrators from the local manufacturing, healthcare and IT industries will discuss the importance of apprenticeship opportunities in restoring the economic security of the middle class. Zach Boren, Senior Advisor for the Office of Apprenticeship at the U.S. Department of Labor is scheduled to participate.
Illinois Central College is the educational partner for the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council’s Central Illinois Center of Excellence for Secure Software (CICESS) initiative. The Secure Software program is a two-and-a –half year program at ICC held in conjunction with the CICESS initiative and is the first Associate in Applied Science degree in Secure Software Development in the nation. The program began in August 2015 and includes college-level programming instruction coupled with on-the-job apprenticeship training at one of four local business partners. Students are trained in techniques developed and approved by the Department of Homeland Security and Carnegie Mellon University.
For questions on the National Apprenticeship Week or the AAS in Secure Software Development degree program at ICC, contact ICC at (309) 694-5-ICC, or visit icc.edu/Apprenticeships