Illinois is accepting applications for $24 million in grant funding to establish training facilities at community colleges aimed at bolstering the state’s manufacturing labor pool.
The funding is for six “manufacturing training academies” at downstate community colleges that will add to two existing academies that opened in 2024.
The new grants will be awarded through a bidding process.
The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity announced that the latest application window opened earlier this month.
Community colleges outside of Cook and the collar counties can apply for grants ranging from $3 million to $6 million.
It comes as the industry faces harsh headwinds from a wide range of factors, including those outside of state leaders’ control.
The training academy program is an offshoot of the bipartisan budget and public infrastructure framework that became law during Pritzker’s first year in office in 2019.
The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association was instrumental in its launch.
