PEORIA MAGAZINE August 2023

S P O T L I G H T

A PIPELINE TO PROSPERITY

A $15 million federal grant has Illinois Central College, Bradley University and Eureka College partnering to produce more IT workers

BY BOB GRIMSON

industry spurred the schools to focus on individual niches – Bradley on health care, Eureka on cyber-security, and ICC on programming, networking and user-support positions. Classes are mainly online, with hybrid and in-person options available. “IT is an ever-changing environment,” said Don Shafer, executive director of the IT Workforce Accelerator at ICC. “The need is not going to go away.” He added that the grant was one of just 32 awarded nationally and one of only two spearheaded by a community college. Funding covers students from the 10 counties in ICC Community College District 514. “The main thing is the collaboration of education, industry and community based organizations is simply incredible,” said Michelle Riggio Rarick, executive director of Continuing Education and Professional Development at Bradley. “It (the application process) was a whirlwind. ICC’s team was amazing leading the charge.” Bradley offers certificates in tele health, electronic medical records, health informatics and instructional design, with additional programming certificates in the works. Rarick said the

courses offer students a quick return on investment and an opportunity for in-demand jobs. Plus, the self-paced nature of the programs makes them attractive to adult learners with jobs and other responsibilities. Successfully completing the courses leads to a digital certification that employers can check and verify. It’s not just the schools that collabo rate, said Rarick. “We’ve got groups of employees from two of the hospitals in town” who have “created a week ly lunch-and-learn, on their own, to motivate each other to complete their assignments,” she said. Dr. Donna Bradley, special assistant to the president for Strategic Initiatives and DEI at Eureka College, said so-called soft skills such as communications and critical thinking also are covered as students train for cyber-jobs that include forensics analyst, incident responder and infrastructure specialist. The programs focus not only on people seeking a career change or advancement but also on those coming from high school, said Bradley. A college degree often isn’t required for tech help desk positions, and the common goal is getting students ready for the IT workforce, she added.

A year after receiving $15 million as part of the U.S. Economic Development Administra tion’s Good Job Challenge grant, a unique consortium of Illinois Central College, Bradley University and Eureka College has started to make inroads to filling the numerous vacant information technology (IT) positions in central Illinois. While the program’s first nine months were primarily spent creating infra structure for the new effort, students are progressing through classes at all three schools, helped by available bene fits such as free tuition, fees, books and services such as childcare, all funded by the grant. Laptops can even be loaned, if necessary. Input from area businesses and Dr. Donna Bradley Don Shafer

38 JULY 2023 PEORIA MAGAZINE

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