GPEDC | Regional Workforce Solutions
Find & Hire Great Talent
Greater Peoria is home to many great organizations that serve Opportunity Populations and prepare individuals for employment success. When you work with these organizations, you aren't just filling a role; you are gaining employees backed by a team to support them and help them succeed at work.
Choose Greater Peoria
Since it's launch in April 2023, Choose Greater Peoria has focused on initiatives that increase the region's visibility in large metro areas and create space for local residents - from newcomers to lifelong Peorians - to share why they choose to call the Greater Peoria area home.
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The Choose Greater Peoria initiative has seen unprecedented collaboration. Over 25 local businesses, alongside our government and philanthropic organizations, have created a unified front focused on attracting talent, businesses, and visitors to the area while fostering pride and connection among area residents - all in an effort to secure Greater Peoria's future economic health.
AbilityLinks
AbilityLinks aims to empower individuals with disabilities and Veterans by providing them with access to meaningful employment opportunities while assisting employers in building diverse and inclusive workforces. They are committed to fostering an environment where every individual can thrive professionally. When you work with AbilityLinks, you gain:
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Diversified Talent Pool: Access a broad network of qualified candidates ready to contribute to your organization's success
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Increased Inclusion & Diversity: Enhance your workplace by starting a partnership focused on creating a more inclusive environment
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Job Posting Services: Reach a committed audience through a targeted posting platform
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Educational Resources: Access a library of resources with the latest disability employment information and tools as well as training and development for employers
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Advocates for Access
Advocates for Access Deaf Services provides education and advocacy while offering individualized instruction in life skills by setting and achieving goals such as using public transportation, money management, social skills, attendant management, nutrition, and self-advocacy. Advocates for Access works with state agencies and employers to train employers to successfully onboard and manage workers with disabilities, while providing wraparound services to workers to ensure employment success.
CWTC
CWTC employment services provides the type of foundational support that instills well-being, financial independence, and self-satisfaction. Community Employment Services supports individuals as they find jobs in the community - providing employment readiness training, employment transition, employment planning, employee development, job-site development, job-site training, and job support services so that individuals can realize their potential through constructive, compassionate training and support.
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CWTC gathers evaluative information and performs thorough job exploration for successful job matches, and has established relationships with several regional employers to achieve successful outcomes for individuals in their programs. CWTC can provide tax incentive information, disability awareness training, job coaching, and 24-hour support to community employers.
Dept. of Rehabilitation
DRS Employment Services provides businesses with sustainable, no-cost and low cost strategies to recruit, train, and retain the skilled workforce needed to thrive. A partnership with DRS gives you access to qualified vocational rehabilitation professionals and many great benefits:
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Job Analysis - DRS staff will work with you to assess the requirements of your jobs and match them to the skills of our candidates. We can help identify appropriate accommodations and assistive technologies to "bridge the gap" between job needs and employee abilities.
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Job Coaches - DRS can provide job coaches to assist qualified individuals with disabilities in learning or re-learning how to perform their job.
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Training - DRS staff can provide trainings to employers on a local or statewide level, including topics related to Disability Awareness, ADA, and Disability Inclusion
EP!C
EP!C provides Job Placement Services to match individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to local businesses and organizations to meet their employment needs. They have several partnerships with employers to consistently fill long-term positions. The team at EP!C will work with you to identify the skills required for a position and make appropriate matches with the individuals they serve. They also provide those individuals with training and support before and during their employment - tailored to the employers' needs and the individuals they serve. Their comprehensive matching and training processes ensure that your new employee is able to perform their duties effectively and efficiently.
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EP!C serves over 100 individuals working in several different industries and positions throughout Greater Peoria at employers like Hy-Vee, Anytime Fitness, Walgreens, and IDES.
Goodwill of Central Illinois
Goodwill Industries of Central Illinois was founded in 1934 and now serves 21 counties within Central Illinois. They also operate Employment Services Centers in Peoria, Galesburg, and Pekin, and a veterans' home in Peoria. All proceeds from the Goodwill stores goes towards fulfilling the mission of "helping communities prosper by transforming donations into life and job skills training and employment services."
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Goodwill offers computer literacy training, people skills training, and many other programs to meet in-demand skills missing for the region. The provide job seeker assistance with job search help, resume building, interview prep and connect job seekers and employers with multiple hiring events throughout the year.
Jobs Partnership Peoria
Jobs Partnership exists to provide employment training, financial mentoring, and support services to all people who are unemployed, underemployed, or retraining after a change in career, including those transitioning out of incarceration into productive citizenship. Jobs Partnership operates on three fronts. First, there is a job training program that targets all people who are unemployed, underemployed, or retraining after changing careers. The second front offers financial/employment coaching and support to everyone needing those services. Finally, a program that helps individuals transition out of incarceration operates within the correctional system.
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They also partner with ICC to facilitate growth and training in the Solar Pipeline Training Program and provide individuals with a four-week soft skills training program before entry into the program.
Minority Business Development Center
The Minority Business Development Center is a nonprofit, entrepreneurial organization focused on innovative ways to grow minority businesses and a skilled workforce. Their mission is to educate and empower those wishing to achieve and maintain financial independence for themselves and the community.
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They provide training and job search assistance to individuals and help employers connect with potential workers, incorporating soft and life skills essential for continued career and employment success.
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Peoria Production Solutions
Peoria Production Solutions aims to be the premier employer of individuals with disabilities as they help develop the skills necessary for independence while delivering high-quality production solutions such as kitting, assembly, and packaging for their customers. They provide employment training and encouragement to people with all disabilities to achieve financial and social independence in a respectful, encouraging, and safe environment.
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Through their programs, they are able to meet the needs as a supplier to organizations in Education, Food & Beverage, Manufacturing, Healthcare, and Transportation - and you can count on quality with PPS's ISO9001:2015 registration.
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TCRC
At Tazewell County Resource Center (TCRC), Employment Services works to secure community employment for adults with developmental disabilities. Workers may be placed in Supportive Employment (with supervision) or Competitive Employment (with limited supervision). The goals of the program are to provide training for the whole person, find the "right job match," and strive to make individual clients as independent as possible in their jobs.
Tri-County Urban League
Employment services offered through the Urban League help clients through various programs that support individuals in obtaining employment. Each individual is assigned a counselor who assesses and coordinates individual skills and capabilities and provides a matching service for available jobs. The team provides career counseling and assists individuals in securing gainful employment and facilitates a series of workshops with topics on job readiness, life-skills, job retention, and more.
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The Urban Youth Empowerment Program (UYEP) is a specialized program designed to help at-risk and adjudicated youth ages 18-24, to address the need for career development through education, training, case management, academics, assessment, personal development, work, and community service.
