What’s Happening at GPEDC?
Please pardon last week's gap - we were not spared by the plethora of illnesses making the rounds!
GPEDC Annual Membership Meeting
On the 14th, the GPEDC had its annual membership meeting - a banner year for the Workforce team! We celebrated growing the team and adding Sara and Courtney in 2024 and looked forward to Cooper joining us as our intern this week. It was great to see the results of the hard work that the team has been putting in to attract talent to #ChooseGreaterPeoria and make a move to our region - as well as looking forward to the priorities for 2025: improving awareness of the Regional Workforce Alliance and creating clear pathways to apprenticeships for women and minorities. On behalf of the entire Workforce Solutions Team, we look forward to working with the new members of the board and the executive board members - a hearty welcome to you all!
Join In Welcoming Cooper Brown: Workforce Intern!
Cooper is a Pekin Community High School senior and plans to attend Illinois Central College after graduation. As part of our team, Cooper will be helping on a wide range of projects, including:
Talent Attraction (Choose Greater Peoria)
Childcare Access & Affordability
Talent Pipelining
Engaging K-12 Students in Career Exploration
Joining Meetings as the 'Student Voice'
This internship will give Cooper hands-on experience while supporting essential efforts to eliminate employment barriers and promote student success! We are hopeful that it will challenge him and enable him to step out of his comfort zone and try (and fail) so he can be supported to learn how to embrace failure as a learning tool and not something to be feared!
Another Successful Lunch & Learn
We hosted our second workforce partner, Lunch & Learn, with this event featuring Junior Achievement of Central Illinois as our presenters. Nearly 40 employers and higher education stakeholders from across the region attended to learn how they can partner with Junior Achievement to not only expand their talent pipeline by supporting CareerSpark and CareerSpark: You're Hired but also how their engagement can make a significant impact on the education and direction of studies for students. Peoria Regional Office of Education Superintendent Beth Crider provided opening remarks. It highlighted the importance of Junior Achievement's work in the classroom and before and after the CareerSpark engagements, as well as how the GPEDC and JA help schools across the region meet PaCE Framework requirements. This was a great event and there were lots of valuable connections made.
We look forward to hosting Illinois Central College for our next Lunch & Learn session in March.
GP CareerSpark Is A National Model for Best Practices!
We are thrilled to announce that GP CareerSpark, our collaboration with Junior Achievement of Central Illinois, has been featured as a case study and best practice for hands-on career exploration. The team at NIU's EdSystems recognized our efforts. Their analysis highlights how we engage nearly 4,000 8th-grade students annually in interactive experiences across eight in-demand career clusters to equip them with valuable insights and clear pathways as they transition to high school. As always, we extend a heartfelt thank you to our dedicated partners, industry professionals, and volunteers who make CareerSpark possible. Your commitment helps us prepare the future workforce and strengthen our region's economy.
Sara & Jeffrey Are Off To Leadership Training!
I am thrilled to announce that Sara will be attending the Community Leadership School offered by the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce, and I will be attending the R. David Tebben Community Leadership Academy offered by the Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce. Stay tuned as we share highlights and takeaways from our learning as we progress through the courses.
Community Leadership School Project Kickoff
I will also work with a cohort from the Community Leadership school as they take the reins on a project related to our childcare challenges. I will be surveying daycares and in-home providers to understand barriers to expanding services so that our region can increase childcare capacity. In addition, they will be spearheading the work to build a roster of regional stakeholders and leaders to join the Greater Peoria Childcare Consortium.
2025 Career Summit Fundraiser: Careers On Tap
Sara has been representing the GPEDC team well in supporting the planning of the 2025 Career Summit - an annual career exploration event for young adults with disabilities in Central Illinois to convene at ICC and explore exciting career paths. There will be a great event at Bust'd Brewing on January 30th from 5:00 - 8:00, so stop in and see Sara and me tending the bar to support this great opportunity to help build confidence and create clear pathways to work these individuals will love and thrive in! We are still looking for career speakers for a few pathways, so if you're interested in volunteering to make a considerable impact, reach out to Sara at skupperschmid@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!
Illinois Central College has received a second round of funding to support the IT Workforce Accelerator through the Good Jobs Challenge Grant. This round of funding brings an additional $4.8M to support IT credentials and upskilling the region's workforce at no cost to participants or their employers!
Emerging Workforce News
Peoria was recently recognized for prioritizing education and career exploration to fill workforce and poverty gaps.
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 Illinois, and NIU’s EdSystems has launched a new GPEAK site that offers training for educators and employers.
Startups & Entrepreneurship
There is still time to apply to be a part of the upcoming gBETA Cohort with gener8tor, the deadline is February 28th!
You can join the Greater Peoria Ideator's Club at Distillery Labs on February 6th from 5 - 7:30 in person or via a video link. Join the group on Facebook or LinkedIn to stay tuned and join the discussion early online!
Distillery Labs' monthly meetup - Welcome Wagon - will happen soon; introduce yourself to this growing community of founders, doers, and dreamers!
Slices & Startups - an after-hours event to connect students with the growing startup community. It will return on a date to be announced in February! Thank you to the generous individuals who sponsored the food so we can provide pizza to the attendees at no cost!
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