GODFREY – The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded Lewis and Clark Community College $1,100,523 for its YouthBuild program as part of an initiative to help youth ages 16-24 train for employment in construction and other in-demand industries.
“This is huge for us and the continued success of our wonderful YouthBuild program,” said L&C Adult Education Outreach Coordinator Jill Dupy. “This funding will not only make a tremendous impact on the lives of our students on the path to well-paying, in-demand jobs but also will fulfill a great need in our community’s workforce.”
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YouthBuild grants support a pre-apprenticeship model to help young people learn valuable occupational skills. Students split their time between workplace training and the classroom, where they earn their high school diploma or equivalency degree and prepare for postsecondary opportunities. L&C’s YouthBuild program is located at the Scott Bibb Center in Alton.
“YouthBuild meets young people where they live, and wherever they are on their path to educational attainment and career success,” said Principal Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Suzi LeVine. “Even as these grants are awarded, the Employment and Training Administration is working on the next YouthBuild funding opportunity, always with an eye to equity and inclusion in terms of the communities involved, and the individual participants served.”
The grant is part of an $89 million U.S. Department of Labor initiative distributed to colleges in 31 states and Puerto Rico. L&C was one of only five schools in Illinois to earn the funding.
L&C’s YouthBuild Program is also known as Building Futures YouthBuild. In addition to construction, the program offers training in transportation, distribution, and logistics, as well as computer careers.
To learn more, visit www.lc.edu/YouthBuild or contact Sabrina Davis at (618) 468-4150 or sdavis@lc.edu.
