In turn, community colleges and adult education—Title II of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)— purchased laptops, hotspots, and instructional tools, in an effort to keep their students engaged. The Adult Education Professional Development Network was laser-focused on providing resources and helping programs and instructors adjust to the unique circumstances of COVID-19. Community colleges adjusted to a virtual environment, allowing for simulations and virtual experiences. Colleges and programs worked hard to stay open. Students continued to learn.  Residents continued to train for the workforce. More than once, these systems pivoted to meet the needs of their students. 

Adult education serves as an important pathway into postsecondary education and training. Students can enter bridge programs or integrated education and training programs, combining adult education and community college credit career and technical education (CTE) coursework, on a career pathway that leads to industry-recognized/postsecondary credentials and meaningful employment. Over 138 bridge programs and 95 IET programs currently exist in the system, spanning fields as diverse as agriculture, food, natural resources, manufacturing, and human services, among others. 

In many instances, these connections—and the cooperation among these partners— motivated students to persist during the pandemic and continue to reap the benefits of their education, to the greatest extent possible. This is particularly important when considering that 9 out of 10 of the state’s community college graduates live, work, pay taxes, and raise their families in Illinois, which is a considerable return on investment when a student ultimately graduates from a community college. In a soon-to-be-released economic impact study by the ICCB, the lifetime earnings for an individual completing an Associate in Applied Science or long-term certificate is nearly $600,000 more than someone not receiving a college credential.  

I encourage you to explore your local community college.

Chicago Women in Trades (CWIT) has been supporting, advocating, and training women in the Chicagoland area for the last 40 years. CWIT is driven by its mission to ensure that all women who want to work with their hands and earn a good living wage have equal access to information, training, and employment opportunities in their chosen industry.

Established in 1987, the Technical Opportunities Program (TOP) is a pre-apprenticeship program preparing women to compete for and succeed in construction apprenticeship programs and other related nontraditional occupations. CWIT offers a 12-week, 180-hour course, serving an average of 100 women annually.

Strong welding skills are sought after in many sectors of our economy. To ensure that women are qualified for and able to advance in these occupations, CWIT is partnering with the Jane Addams Resource Corporation to provide women with welding instruction, primarily geared toward preparing them for entry-level manufacturing jobs. The 12-week full-time training program provides successful graduates with OSHA 10 certification as well as American Welding Society credentials.

Around the country, tradeswomen’s organizations, apprenticeship programs, unions, contractors, and tradeswomen themselves are creating and implementing effective strategies for recruiting and retaining women in the trades. The CWIT is collecting these best practices to provide an in-depth look at the elements that make these strategies so effective. They have created briefs you can download, that cover a variety of topics that support success for women in trades. Topics include building equity for Black, Latina, and Afro-Latina women in construction, pregnancy, and maternity, how women’s committees and book clubs can be a key to recruiting and retaining women apprentices, preventing and addressing sexual harassment, women-only pre-apprenticeship programs, and ways to be a male ally. You can access the fourteen Best Practices Briefs here.

The Palooza presented a combination of live webinars, on-demand videos, and games to encourage exploration of different career options within CTE and share how students can get started on a career path now. The free event was open to all Illinois students and reached over 2,000 individuals within the secondary system. Students were encouraged to participate with gamification elements that allowed them to earn points and win prizes for the top three most engaged participants. All of the resources from the Palooza will continue to be accessible on the Palooza webpage.

Although she never saw herself as an educator, Kristine Christensen has been part of the Computer Information Systems (CIS) and Automation and Engineering Technology (AET) faculty at Moraine Valley Community College for 20 years, the last three spent teaching in AET. The teaching ‘bug’ bit Dr. Christensen while she was pursuing her master’s degree in Management Information Systems when she accepted an invitation to teach an undergraduate introduction to information systems course in the business department. “I was a bit apprehensive since I did not have any teaching experience,” Dr. Christensen admits, “but the idea of helping people learn about a subject that I had a passion for was intriguing and I love to challenge myself, so I said yes. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made.” Near the end of her studies, she was offered a position at Moraine Valley Community College where she’s been part of the faculty ever since.

Dr. Christensen was kind enough to answer some questions about her role, her students, and the changes she’s seen in CTE during her 20-year career.

Five Questions with Dr. Kristine Christensen, Professor of Information Management Systems at Moraine Valley Community College (Disclaimer the words expressed below were lightly edited for length and clarity.)

Prior to teaching several courses at Governors State University, I never saw myself as an educator. That experience helped me make the decision to pursue a teaching career, specifically in technology. I loved the idea of helping students learn valuable skills that they could transfer to their careers and everyday lives.

The thing I love most about my job is the students. I love helping them learn skills that they can use in their professional and personal life, hearing about and seeing how they applied what they learned in class, being inspired by and learning from my students, and hearing about current and former student successes.

I am always impressed by students who discover their passion for a subject, become immersed in learning more about it, and then sharing what they’ve learned with others in the class. It is one of the benefits of being a teacher in this field.

 I have happily seen a more diverse group of students in my classroom. I believe that mentoring and other programs offered by the college have encouraged students who would have not otherwise pursued these fields to register for CTE courses.

I hope my students gain confidence, become risk-takers and say yes to opportunities, and realize the importance and value of being lifelong learners.

 Lake County Workforce Development qualifies individual jobseekers for Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) training grants available through the U.S. Department of Labor. 

In less than a month, Ronny began working as an LPN earning over $25 per hour at two work sites: Zee’s Healthcare, LLC and Village at Victory Lakes. Ronny is continuing her professional development and plans to obtain a Bachelor's next. When asked what advice she would give to other job seekers, Ronny stated “Never give up if you want something good in life. You must work hard, be patient, and be determined no matter what. Grab the opportunities afforded to you!”