Workforce Weekly | Jan. 13, 2025

Jan 134 min read

What’s Happening at GPEDC?

Lunch & Learns

On Thursday, January 16, we will host another Workforce Solutions Lunch & Learn with our friends at Junior Achievement of Central Illinois as our guests. You can still RSVP today and tomorrow - this meetup will feature a free pizza for everyone courtesy of Prohibition Pizza! You will learn about the opportunities to volunteer in the classroom with JA and how to get involved with our CareerSpark expo, which helps thousands of 8th-grade students find the spark for their career pathways. How to reach thousands of high school students with CareerSpark: You’re Hired to promote your openings.

We will host another Lunch & Learn with ICC in March and look forward to more partners to showcase in May, July, September, and November! Get in touch with Jeffrey or Sara if you’d like to be a presenter this year!

RWA Rebranding

Stay tuned as the Workforce Solutions Team brings the Regional Workforce Alliance into the spotlight. We will soon launch a website and social media channels to highlight the vital work the RWA, its partners, and the employers in our collective impact organization are doing to build a capable, resilient workforce for Greater Peoria!

New Intern!

We are big fans of making sure people have the opportunity to do work that they will thrive in without sticking to arbitrary standards like degree requirements. So this week, we will practice what we preach and have a new intern joining us. Help us welcome Cooper Brown to the team. Cooper is a Pekin Community High School student seeking a challenging work-based learning opportunity to help him figure out the best pathway to do the work he wants. We have a lot of high-impact work lined up for him, and we look forward to the opportunity to help shape his future!

GPWorks Site

One topic that has long been on the to-do list for the team and the organizations that we work with is to create a comprehensive source of information to understand all of the workforce solutions in our region. We have launched this site and will update each section every two weeks until it is complete. You can check that out here.

Childcare Consortium

Our team is spearheading the formation of a local Childcare Consortium, which will include stakeholders from business development organizations, healthcare, childcare, state agencies, entrepreneurs, parents, and caregivers to survey employers and the general public to understand the impact of childcare challenges on long-term employment success. Once the survey is complete, our working group will explore opportunities and shape strategies to expand childcare access across our region, focusing on rural and high-poverty communities.

Graduated Greater Peoria

Last up is an initiative to highlight notable grads from Greater Peoria’s high schools and create a platform to tell their story and encourage students to aspire to their goals. We aim to feature “normal” success stories - individuals who had a goal and have accomplished it, whether working in the skilled trades, starting a business, running a restaurant, managing a team, or completing a program at college. If you or someone you know is proud of their education in a Greater Peoria High School and wants to share their story with students across the region, send us names and contact information at workforce@greaterpeoriaedc.org!

Training & Upskilling In Greater Peoria

Our friends at Goodwill of Central Illinois always have opportunities to learn and grow their skills to find better employment. You can view their calendar to discover what’s happening in January and expand your potential.
Once you have the training - or if you need more help- Tri-County Urban League can help
If you are looking to improve your acumen as an entrepreneur and contractor, the Minority Business Development Center has a program meeting right now twice per week!

Emerging Workforce

Junior Achievement has CareerSpark: You’re Hired open and underway! Thousands of high school students will use their virtual platform to learn about career opportunities and employers in our region. If you’d like to get involved, you can attend the Lunch & Learn or contact sally.eastman@ja.org to learn more about this excellent opportunity.
GPEAK - a program to provide training on essential employability skills, has expanded across the state of Illinois, and NIU’s EdSystems has launched a new GPEAK site that offers training for educators and employers.
We are also thrilled to announce that EdSystems visited Peoria last year to check out the 8th Annual CareerSpark expo, and we will be featured in a case study that should be released soon to highlight the importance of providing exposure to multiple careers and industry clusters to students in elementary school and the benefits that exposure has on their long-term career fulfillment.

Entrepreneurship

Be sure to stop into Distillery Labs to enjoy some coffee from Cafe Santa Rosa and to check out the facilities - a limited number of coworking memberships are still available for entrepreneurs, small businesses, and others looking to make an impact on the Greater Peoria innovation scene
Join us on Jan 14 for Welcome Wagon at 4:30 pm at Distillery Labs
Slices & Startups returns for students on Jan 15, from 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

The OE3 Grant has been announced, and you can get support for your small business from the Hispanic Chamber, the Minority Business Development Center, and the Greater Peoria EDC
Want to pitch your business and have a shot at $20,000 - Fortress Bank’s Bank Tank is still taking applications
gener8tor’s gBeta program is open to applicants - learn how to take your startup to the next level in this cohort
The Greater Peoria Ideators Club is live - join our Facebook group to jump in on the discussion

GPEDC | Regional Workforce Solutions