The CTE Workforce Landscape of Greater Peoria

For Employers

How Businesses Can Help Build the Pipeline

No school, high school or college, starts or expands a CTE program on a hunch. Programs launch when schools can point to a direct outcome: a local employer that will interview, hire, or train the students who complete them. Here is how an employer of any size can engage with both our high schools and our colleges.

• Signal your demand. Tell your local school, and GPEDC, what roles you hire for and which credentials matter.
• Join a program advisory committee. A few hours each semester shapes curriculum and keeps equipment lists current.
• Open your doors. Job shadows, internships, co-ops, and youth apprenticeships turn interest into commitment.
• Sponsor credentials and equipment. Exam fees and materials are often the barrier between a course and a credential.
• Lend your people. Guest instructors, mock interviewers, and teacher externships bring the workplace into the classroom.
• Hire, then close the loop. Interview program completers and tell the school how those hires perform.

Ready to start? GPEDC Workforce Solutions and the Regional Workforce Alliance broker each of these partnerships. Get in touch and we will connect your business with the right school, program, and pathway.