Belleville, Ill. — In another step to put state government on the side of working families, Governor JB Pritzker signed an executive order ensuring workforce development funding is directed to growing industries that will create the jobs of the future, standing with elected officials, educators and students at Southwestern Illinois Community College in St. Clair County.
Kevin Bushur is the Chief Executive Officer of C.E.F.S. Economic Opportunity Corporation, a Community Action Agency. In 2017 C.E.F.S. delivered an array of social services to almost 20,000 individuals by providing opportunities through education and support to achieve and maintain self-sufficiency. C.E.F.S. has over 240 employees and in 2017 had 17.5 million dollars of revenues from grants and donations.
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act gives priority services to vulnerable populations. The Revive Lake County program was created as an innovative solution to provide formerly incarcerated individuals with the essential skills needed in today’s economy to ensure successful re-entry into the workforce. Such individuals are often overlooked by companies, but offer viable talent when developed. To solve this problem, a diverse group of stakeholders united under the shared ethos of second-chances and economic vitality to create an innovative program that would benefit individuals, businesses, and society at large.
Symbol Job Training, Inc. (Symbol) provides effective, hands-on training within the advanced manufacturing field that puts its clients on a path for skilled, financially self sustaining and highly in-demand careers. Since 2005, Symbol has served as the leader in the local manufacturing workforce system by serving as the conduit for improving our clients lives by up-skilling them and serving the local employers with a qualified work ready workforce. Symbol has made significant contributions to the economic viability in the local workforce area by being a reliable source of talent for the industry as well as helping the underserved individuals overcome their economic obstacles.