SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — Funding is coming to Sangamon County to create a pathway for more high schoolers to get into high-paying blue-collar jobs.

Nearly $1 million dollars in funding secured by Sen. Doris Turner (D-Springfield) will go to support construction and trade apprenticeship programs across Christian and Sangamon County. In the funding, Menard-Sangamon Regional Office of Education will receive $440,000 and Illinois Foundation of SkillsUSA Illinois will receive $550,000 for job training.

Sen. Turner said this investment will help students.

“Investing in the trades gives students a path to secure stable, good-paying careers in a high-demand industry,” Turner said.

Some of the money will go to SkillsUSA Illinois, which is an organization that provides training programs for high school and college students that are looking to get into careers in healthcare, trade, and other technical sectors. With this fund, the organization will support carpentry apprenticeship programs for students in Springfield by bringing in new resources, paying for equipment students need, and helping pay for transportation that the school currently can’t afford.

The executive director of SkillsUSA Illinois, Eric Hill, said this is to help students not only earn better pay but also get their foot in the door.

“This is about preparing students for real careers,” Hill said. “But then most importantly connecting directly to the union apprenticeship halls or other union-based operations as they’re preparing to graduate from high school, from this program, connecting them.”

The organization has run a similar program in the Aurora-area last year. Now they are expanding to central Illinois in the second year. The first program is expected to start in September, with Lanphier High School being the central hub for all the students in District 186.

Lanphier High School currently has a construction class for its own students which started with just six students. Now it has grown past 60 students and next year, the number of students is expected to pass over 120. Students have already built things like Santa Claus houses for the park district and children’s playhouses.

The class instructor, Robert Handy, said the class is the most popular class in the school now and some students have expressed interest in other career fields that they don’t have.

“The reason the kids love this class is because it is moving around, they’re not stuck in a classroom sitting, they are putting their hands on tools, they are learning viable skills,” Handy said. “We have a young man who wants to go into welding. We don’t have welding here yet, so SkillsUSA is able to buy him all of his protective equipment that he needs to weld, and then we have somebody come in here and mentor him.”

The fund will operate like a reimbursement grant for a one-year cycle from January to December with the ability to apply for up to two years of renewal. Hill said these types of programs help students get the guidance and bring more people from other backgrounds into the industry.

“When you graduate high school, there’s three ways out of high school-a four-year degree, military, or the workforce. Those first two options have an incredible support system in place. Recruiters, counselors, everyone,” Hill said. “If you’re a high school student who wants to be a welder, pipe fitter, plumber, there are zero support systems for you. So at 17 years old, you are on your own learning how to navigate those waters. Then we’re wondering why we don’t have diversity in these particular areas.”

He said investing in apprenticeship help student easily transition in to real workforce.

“So programs like this are exactly what we should be doing as a country, as a state, and as a community,” Hill said.  

The organization will be running on a cohort program starting this year, since the funding runs from January to December which is eight months behind the school start date. This leaves a short time to spend money for the year. Hill said they are working with legislation to fix the funding time to better match with the school year, which could allow them to run two cohorts. One starting January to May and the second starting August to December.

Senior Leandre Johnson is now taking carpentry as one of his classes. He said he is also exploring a different career he heard about.

“I’m really a hands-on person and when I heard about this class I said I want to go into the trade. I want to go into carpentry. This is teaching me new skills that I would never know but a friend told me about HVAC,” Johnson said. “But I might go into HVAC and from there to see which one I like more.”

The construction trade apprenticeship program is part of the state effort to minimize workforce shortages. These funds are part of a $19 million grant funding from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

Officials said 38 other organizations received the grant through the Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program to create more pathways for youth who want to go into trade.