By Laura Aka for WorkingNation.
Broadcast version by Judith Ruiz-Branch for Illinois News Connection reporting for the WorkingNation-Public News Service Collaboration
Considered the oldest community in Illinois, Peoria sits on the Illinois River, equidistant from Chicago and St. Louis. Health care, manufacturing, and agriculture are among the city's main workforce sectors. But the demand for skilled workers is deep, extending into construction and teaching.
The city's population is estimated to be more than 110,000, with a racial makeup that includes more than 57% white, more than 26% Black, just over 7% Hispanic or Latino, and just under 7% Asian.
With a poverty rate of 20%, the city puts a high value on education at all levels to help build the talent pipeline and supercharge economic mobility for its residents.
Peoria Mayor Rita Ali, Ph.D.'s own personal and professional history has deeply informed her work in the city. She once was both a public aid receipt and a welfare recipient.
"I knew that education was my way out of poverty," says Ali. After earning a bachelor's degree, two master's degrees, and a doctorate, she worked as a caseworker and spent more than 20 years as the vice president of workforce and diversity at Illinois Central College before retiring early from that position to take on her mayoral role in 2021.
"I tell my story because it connects with other people who were in a position like me, being a single parent for a long time, not having the adequate skills to get the types of jobs and earn the types of wages that I needed.
"I understand the importance of empowering people with the skills and credentials they need to become a relevant and steady part of our workforce. It drives our economy. It provides healthy-paying jobs for families to thrive in our community. I brought those skills, that learning with me into this position as mayor of the city of Peoria," Ali explains.
Illinois Central College's Role in the Community
Given Ali's journey, it's not surprising that the mayor stresses the importance of her city's educational stakeholders.
"As a workforce region, we currently have 42% of the population that has a credential beyond high school. Unfortunately, almost 65% of the jobs require a credential past high school," says Sheila Quirk-Bailey, D.M., president of Illinois Central College (ICC) in East Peoria. "So, we have a big workforce gap."
The school's Workforce Equity Initiative provides pathways to 12 short-term certificates that can be earned within a year. The offerings include HVAC residential installer, emergency medical technician, CNC machine operator, production welder, and truck driver.
Quirk-Bailey explains that the types of post-credential jobs connected to the program must have a salary that's 30% above the regional living wage and also provide benefits.
The mayor says, "Our health care system in Peoria has 2,000 jobs available, but we don't have the 2,000 people with the credentials and the skills to take on those jobs."
In an attempt to fill those roles, ICC offers a variety of health care-related programs that require one to two years to complete including licensed practical nurse (LPN), medical laboratory technician, and occupational therapy assistant.
Noting ICC's partnership with local hospital systems, Quirk-Bailey says, "We're trying to push people up those pipelines into more opportunity. We haven't had any problem getting our completers employment because they do a really good job."
Workforce Readiness Programs and Early Career Guidance
Recently, ICC participated in the "Classroom to Career" White House Summit where it was recognized for its IT Workforce Accelerator program which allows participants to earn an IT certificate at no cost. "We are incredibly proud of the impact ICC is making in our community to help individuals obtain high-demand, higher-wage jobs," Quirk-Bailey says about the honor.
Other workforce readiness programs include apprenticeships in the construction industry. "We do pre-apprenticeships in the high schools. These students go boot camp-style with us for eight to 12 weeks depending on the program they're in. And then they're very competitive and getting those jobs with the union."
Quirk-Bailey explains ICC's reach also extends to young students, "All of the national data will tell you that students don't know what they want to be when they're in seventh grade, but students start deciding what they're not going to be in seventh grade. And often that's based on zero information."
ICC is one of a number of partners of GP CareerSpark - an initiative of the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council and Junior Achievement of Central Illinois that provides "a series of interactive work and career readiness experiences for eighth- through twelfth-grade students in the region."
Quirk-Bailey says, "It grew out of the response to ask, 'What do we do to make sure students understand the amazing opportunities we have in this region for them?'"
Motivated by the stats she noted earlier - 42% of residents have a credential beyond high school, but 65% of jobs require a post-high school credential - the ICC president says, "We're going to continue to churn until we balance that market, continue to meet people where they are, credential them so it matches the needs in the region. We don't want to lose people to other cities. We want to keep people here."
Pathways to Teaching Include Apprenticeships
Recognizing the need for more teachers to pave the way to educational opportunity, Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat, Ed.D., superintendent for Peoria Public Schools (PPS), says it is her goal to have "highly qualified teachers in every classroom."
The district serves more than 13,000 students with 78% considered low-income. Fifty-six percent of the student population is Black and 14% is Hispanic, with the remainder white, according to the superintendent.
"When I started in 2015, there were 108 openings and now we have about 13.5 openings," says Desmoulin-Kherat. The school district is engaged in a number of initiatives to build its teaching workforce.
The district offers an apprenticeship teacher program with a company called BloomBoard. Linda Wilson is the gateway-to-teaching coordinator for the district's teacher apprenticeship program, as well as the Grow Your Own Peoria program.
She explains that the apprenticeships, which include online learning, are beginning this month with nine participants, "They will be able to work and participate in protected clinical experience time every day."
Among the requirements to become an apprentice, participants must have completed 60 postsecondary credit hours or have an associate degree. The school district is paying 63% of the apprentices' tuition. Wilson adds, "Apprentices are required to apply for FAFSA...and the remaining portion of their tuition is paid through the Pell Grant."
Desmoulin-Kherat explains another teaching pathway available in the district, "We have a program with individuals with a degree, but they don't have a license. We help them get their license and then we place them in positions."
Through a partnership with the University of West Florida, teacher candidates are allotted two years to earn their certificate. For those who complete the program, the district covers 100% of the tuition cost and requires an immediate three-year teaching commitment.
Grow Your Own Teachers Program
Of the Grow Your Own Peoria program, Wilson says, "Our focus and mission is to recruit and retain local teacher candidates from our area. One of the goals of the statewide program also is to increase diversity."
She explains her program is one of a number of consortia across Illinois that are funded with state monies and have local partnerships.
The statewide Grow Your Own Illinois says, "We offer a full range of tools to our candidates, including financial and academic assistance, social-emotional support, and culturally sustaining instructional strategies, so they can attain a teaching license."
Wilson shares she is a graduate of Grow Your Own, "Years ago, I was an aide for about 10 years. The program came about - I applied, was accepted, and graduated from Bradley University." She says a few years into her teaching career, she learned - for reasons including lack of funds - the program ended.
Wilson credits Desmoulin-Kherat for promising to revive the pathway when she was a candidate for the superintendent's position.
"She thought our program was important - the idea of a community teacher that you see in church...or you see in a grocery store." Perhaps not surprising, Desmoulin-Kherat is one of four finalists for the 2025 National Superintendent of the Year Award announced by the AASA, The School Superintendents Association. The award winner will be announced in March.
Currently, Wilson says the district would like to increase the number of men in teaching roles, including men of color.
She adds, "It's something that is near and dear to my heart. I'm just happy to be of service and helping other people. [There have] been so many people along the way that helped me become the teacher that I am."
PPS also gives young students the opportunity to learn about the teaching profession via the Future Teacher Club (FTC). Currently, there are 82 middle and high school students - from different district schools - taking part in FTC.
The participants job-shadow administrators and teachers, and lead small group instruction with younger students. These experiences vary depending upon the school - with some club members visiting classrooms twice per semester or, as often as, once a month.
Career Exploration for Young Students
It's a challenge expecting school counselors to thoroughly introduce students to job pathways, according to the mayor. "We've seen the ratio of counselor-to-students change over time because of the shortage of school resources," says Ali. "We've seen, in some cases, a high school counselor having six- to 800 students.
"That focus on career counseling - they haven't had the time. If we could get that ratio down one-to-150 or one-to-300, we would have a lot more investment in career development for our young people."
Desmoulin-Kherat echoes the mayor's thoughts on access to the workforce. "It's a big part of our strategic plan to prepare students for not only college but for careers, as well. We start in middle school."
She explains, "We have a portal called SchooLinks. It's a place where students go and interact with the portal - what are your strengths, what are your interests and so forth. They ultimately build an inventory to help them continue to explore their interests and passion.
"That's part of our vision - reimagining our work to assist kids, students in exploring careers so they can be responsible, successful citizens."
Desmoulin-Kherat notes the exploration allows students to build a five-year plan that continues through high school and the year post-graduation. "This allows them to learn about jobs, salaries, responsibilities, requirements, and the education needed."
Career and Technical Education
The district's Woodruff Career & Technical Center (WCTC) "provides robust career and technical programming, enabling students to earn credentials and certifications." Desmoulin-Kherat says there are more than 450 students enrolled in WCTC's 13 career pathways. Among them - health occupations, barbering, collision technology (autobody), construction, culinary arts, emergency services (fire science technology), and nail technology.
Ali says the largest employers in Peoria are part of the health care system - OSF Healthcare and Carle Health, noting, "Together they create many jobs for our community."
She says there is room for advancement in the health care sector, "For example, starting with the phlebotomist, then getting the CNA (certified nursing assistant), then getting the LPN, and then maybe even going into radiology or surgical tech. There's lots of different occupations within the health care system."
Desmoulin-Kherat says it is not uncommon for students to move into jobs after earning credentials and passing any required exams.
For example, regarding the CNA program, she says, "They graduate from high school with a CNA license. After they pass that test and they have a semester of work experience, I've noticed...they're picked up either by the hospitals or nursing homes in the area. And most of the kids in CNA want to pursue a nursing degree."
In addition, some of the WCTC pathways, including the CNA program, provide students with dual credit from Illinois Central College.
The students - who have followed the CNA pathway - have the opportunity to participate in internships and gain real-world experience, explains Shelley Parn, chief human resources officer, for OSF Healthcare.
"It's literally getting them a foot in the door, having mentorship and partnership in that intern environment as a high school student," says Parn. "Our nursing teams really take those individuals underneath their wings."
Another OSF initiative is "trying to help kids understand all these [health care] opportunities through the eyes of STEAM," says Noël Adams, vice president of academic collaboration and operations for OSF Innovation.
Housed in OSF's Jump Trading Simulation and Education Center, Adams says about Jump Simulation, "We have one of the most state-of-the-art innovation centers in the United States." The facility is a collaboration between OSF HealthCare and the University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria.
Adams says, "We recognized the need to inspire kids into health careers instead of just walking them through our building.
"The first two floors look like a hospital. We have everything from an indoor ambulance to an OR to ICU rooms," she explains. "Instead of just walking them through and talking to them about it, we decided to start hands-on learning."
She says, "Research shows that the sweet spot is sixth through eighth grade. So, we started there and then went up through high school."
College interns are key to the STEAM program. "Most of our applications have all been built by college kids," Adams explains. "Generally, we choose juniors and seniors, and we give them real projects that they would be working on. We have them in health care analytics, we have them in our performance improvements in our ventures departments. We have interns in those areas to pipeline in."
Jump also offers one- to two-week experiences to college students who are planning to attend medical school. The purpose is to provide clinical experiences over a "range of clinical roles."
In addition to student-focused learning, OSF Healthcare is offering its own employees access to free education and career service opportunities. Utilizing Guild's Learning Marketplace - which offers over 400 health care-focused programs - CHRO Parn explains, "Two years ago, we sat down and said, 'What do we need to do...to respond to the post-pandemic lack of workforce?"
She points out OSF's environmental services leaders have effectively boosted the housekeeping population's Guild participation, "We're seeing people progress into higher levels of jobs and income. People can see this is doable - 'This is something you can do.'"
Access to the Manufacturing Sector
"Caterpillar and manufacturing are still important to our area," says Ali. Once headquartered in Peoria, Caterpillar still has 12,000 workers in the region with plenty of facilities, according to the mayor.
She adds, "These are not just blue-collar jobs. They're logistics. They're office management-type careers. We still have engineering careers and those technical jobs in our area. We hope for their continued presence here and continued jobs in our area."
Desmoulin-Kherat says, "We have a manufacturing program at Manual High School, which is pretty cool. There are 150 students that are exposed to the manufacturing pathway, and that's in collaboration with Caterpillar.
"The kids are paid very, very well. Once they graduate, they're offered positions or some of them may want to be engineers. They go to college, they get summer jobs with Caterpillar, they come back, and it's a great relationship."
Andrew Rice is the high school's manufacturing, engineering, welding, and Caterpillar internship instructor. He says the overall curriculum includes a manufacturing-based introduction to technology and engineering, smaller hands-on projects, dual-credit welding, and practical manufacturing classes.
Rice says the student internship opportunity with Caterpillar has to be earned, "Caterpillar has been so good to us over the years, I want to get a good return on their investment." Currently, 23 high school seniors are participating in the program.
"[The students] come in as a real Caterpillar employee. They go over for about two-and-a-half hours a day. They make $15 an hour currently. With that, they have the benefits that go along with it, but they also have the responsibilities that go along with it."
Rice says there are also continued internship pathways for students who elect to enroll in college. He notes a Manual High School graduate will earn her engineering degree in the spring and begin working in Caterpillar's tool design division.
He is proud to note that Caterpillar has a strong history of hiring his students, "I've never had a student be turned down. They've always found a position for them.
"If they like putting things together, they can go right into a position in assembly. If they like machining parts, they can go into as a machinist, they can go into a heat treat specialist. They could go on the logistics side. We have students doing that go into engineering safety. The list goes on and on."
Youth Internships
In an effort to outreach to young people, the mayor offers a youth internship program. "I take a hundred students from Peoria Public Schools. They're 14- and 15-year-olds - and I give them a summer job.
"Every week, we do what we call development days. We have speakers come in to talk to them. We work with them on interviewing skills or resumes. Then we keep up with them during the school year and we bring them back for a second summer."
Ali continues, "A lot of that money has dried up for youth employment programs that we've had through programs of the past. You have to be creative in trying to secure those funds through other programs."
The Agriculture Sector
Regarding agriculture, the mayor says, "We have a strong farm bureau - Peoria County Farm Bureau - and we have a lot of food processing companies. We have the presence of the USDA lab here, which is the national research lab."
"We're a research organization. We're a science organization," explains Todd Ward, Ph.D., center director for the USDA's National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR).
"Our mission is to solve agricultural problems using science - providing science-based solutions to some of the biggest agricultural problems that exist right now. We're a big lab. We work in a lot of different areas within science and within agriculture."
Ward continues, "The types of projects that we work on could range from things involving how do we make farming more productive? How do we make farming more sustainable, controlling insects and diseases in our fields - all the way through to once the crop is harvested, how do we add value in economic opportunity associated with those agricultural materials or wastes?
"More recently, we have done a lot of great work in food safety, identifying pathogens in food, and developing technologies to help regulatory agencies identify foodborne outbreaks, for instance. But also, things involving detection of toxins or unhealthy materials in our foods."
Regarding lab positions, Ward says, "We mostly hire scientists. These would be people with education and training in a wide variety of science and engineering fields, predominantly biologist and chemist, but also engineers and other types of scientists and allied fields. This attracts people from all over the country to move to Peoria."
He stresses it's crucial to develop the next generation of the STEM workforce. He cites a partnership with the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences, "It's a really unique secondary school institution. We do a lot of career mentoring-type things. We bring those students down for a day in the labs, so they get real hands-on research experience, but we also do career development, go to their science fairs, their career days."
Regarding the local high schools, Ward says the organization conducts tours and holds high school lab science days with students being given the opportunity to work in the labs. In addition, NCAUR is a partner of GP CareerSpark.
There are internships available for college students. "Last year, we had 24 college students from across the country receive eight- or 10-week paid internships to conduct research, getting really hands-on experience with science and technology," says Ward. "For some of the participants in our summer internship for college students, we know they've been interested in a career in science. Several of them have applied and have permanent jobs now with USDA."
Teachers are also afforded learning opportunities. Ward says, "The USDA has a Future Scientists Program.
In partnership with Peoria County and the Illinois Farm Bureau, we provided two days of hands-on training courses in ag science and hands-on lab experience to primary school teachers from across Illinois so that they could go back and share that knowledge with their students."
Looking Ahead to Peoria's Future
Ali, whose term expires in May and is running for reelection, is hopeful about Peoria's future with a new five-year strategic plan in place - focused on a high quality of life. She says, "That's where workforce sits improving, changing the lives of our people. So, I'm very optimistic."
The plan says, "Acknowledging the diverse range of contributors - including community members, neighborhood groups, youth, businesses, community organizations, schools, and volunteers - highlights the interconnectedness of the community and the shared responsibility in shaping the city's future."
Additionally, thinking long-term, Ali believes passenger rail service will boost the local economy by making it easier for people to commute to and from Peoria. In 2023, Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) awarded $500,000 to Peoria.
Still in its very early stages, Patrick Urich, Peoria's city manager, says about 60 stakeholders are currently involved in the rail service project including the Illinois Department of Transportation which funded the project's feasibility study in 2022, state legislators, members of Illinois' congressional delegation, mayors in other communities along the proposed route, Chambers of Commerce, labor, business, and more.
The completed feasibility study helped Peoria secure $500,000 in initial funding - in 2023 - from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).
Urich says, "The rail lines are all in existence today. It's the old Rock Island route. So, we'll have to work with the freight operators on those lines. The infrastructure definitely has to be improved so that would create jobs.
"The economic standpoint is critical. When you talk a construction project of this magnitude, there would be a significant amount of economic activity that would be generated. We don't have a number yet in terms of the number of construction jobs that it would take, but it would certainly have an impact."
Urich continues, "There are jobs working at the train stations. There are jobs working on the trains. There are jobs servicing the trains. This provides an opportunity for additional employment in the rail industry."
He adds, "The economic standpoint is critical. Along the route, Peoria is now a health care center for central Illinois. Having trains coming from Chicago into Peoria in the mornings is important because there are people along the routes that need to have medical services here in Peoria."
Regarding tourism, Urich says, "There are nearly 3 million visitors a year to Starved Rock State Park [in Utica]. If there's an opportunity to provide rail access where somebody coming from Chicago or somebody coming from Peoria could come in to support the tourism industry and support the recreation industry, that's critical as well."
The overall passenger rail service project is estimated to cost $2.5 billion and take around 10 years to complete, according to Urich.
As she wraps her conversation with WorkingNation, Ali says, "I think that Peoria is a place we want to attract additional employers because we have the people. Many times, we've worked together - business and education - to create or sponsor programs that can train our existing workforce or even attract individuals from outside our area to come here and work for our existing employers."
Laura Aka wrote this article for WorkingNation.
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