by: Mason Gentry
In a press conference last Thursday, Parkland Officials and Illinois House member, Carol Ammons, announced the launch of Parkland’s new Support for Workforce Training (SWFT) program.
According to Thursday’s press release by Parkland College, Parkland was one of 15 pilot community colleges to participate in the $18.7 million Workforce Equity Initiative. Parkland College was granted $1.5 million of this sum of money. The goal of the statewide program is to train 1,500 adults in areas with high demand workers. This current grant period will run from October of 2019 to September of 2020.
Tom Ramage, President of Parkland College, said that, “this initiative has such potential to do great things for this community. It is the single largest one-year, competitive grant that this college, I think, has ever received.”
At the press conference, District 103 Illinois House Representative Carol Ammons said that she worked closely with the Legislative Black Caucus to begin addressing the workforce disparity across the state.
Ammons explained that the caucus considered what could be done to, “eliminate involuntary unemployment, underemployment, and issues of disparity in particular areas of wage earners.”
She went on to explain that the goal for the SWFT program is to make it easier for more people in the community to find jobs at $15 an hour or at an otherwise livable wage.
Ammons said that, “Participants may receive a number of scholarships, waivers, and stipends, for the necessary classes and training to further their careers.” She also said that these would include resources such as childcare, transportation and other non-monetary tools to ensure that the individual can succeed in the program and later in their life.
When considering large scale programs, the source of money has always been integral in its effectivity.
Ammons explained how the Lieutenant Governor of Illinois was doubtful that the state could support a program like SWFT in each community college. So, instead of doing so, they created 15 pilot programs funded by the WEI.
“Part of that process was figuring out where the best use of the dollars could be, where the partnerships already exist, and where we know we can actually meet the goals of the actual grant,” said Ammons.
By the next budgetary cycle, Ammons hopes to double the 1.5-million-dollar grant.
Pam Lau, Executive Vice President of Parkland College, said at the press conference that the SWFT program, “will provide free, short-term training to underserved populations in our community college district, 505.” She explained that the outcomes are expected to fulfill the mission of Parkland by engaging the community in learning.
Parkland’s WEI grant Administrator and VP for Communication and External Affairs, Stephanie Stuart, on Thursday, said that, “One of the key components of the SWFT grant is that more than 60 percent of our participants are going to be African American community members.” This, the college’s cross functional group of SWFT members hope, will enable the historically disenfranchised community members to attain high demand and high wage careers.
Stuart went on to explain that the 22 degree or certificate programs offered will be in the career fields of construction and manufacturing, healthcare, transportation and distribution and business and IT services.
The press release listed several career options within these categories such as industrial maintenance and welding, phlebotomy and pharmacy technicians, practical nursing, CDL and highway construction and Microsoft Web and Google IT professionals.
Along with tuition and fee waivers, Stuart said that they are also looking at non-financial opportunities such as stipends, childcare reimbursement and transportation among other things so that the newly enrolled SWFT students can be as successful as possible.
It is encouraged that all community members who are interested visit the new website to contact the right people to get started.
