Required Program Activities

Section 850.50  Required Program Activities The focus of the Climate Works Pre-apprenticeship Program is to help equity investment eligible persons successfully transition from the pre-apprenticeship program into registered apprenticeship programs in construction and building trades with a need for clean energy workforce expansion (primary outcome) or other advanced training programs or employment (secondary outcome).  Climate Works Hubs must: a)         Design, develop and implement a Climate Works Pre-apprenticeship center to serve participants across a large geographic area and to provide equitable access to pre-apprenticeship training, academic support and supportive services.  The entities providing the Program training must be approved to provide training services by all appropriate accrediting bodies. b)         Utilize proactive recruitment and outreach strategies to enroll participants in a manner that upholds the core values of diversity, inclusion, accessibility, and equity for all populations, including equity focused populations.  Climate Works Hubs will collaborate with Energy Transition Navigators selected by the Department (see 20 ILCS 730/5-35) to complete community education, outreach and recruitment. c)         Create an application process to review potential participants' eligibility for the Program. d)         Prepare Program participants for registered apprenticeship programs by: 1)         Recruiting, prescreening, and providing pre-apprenticeship skills training, free of charge, using the following curricula: A)        The North American Building Trades Unions (NABTU) Apprenticeship Readiness Program (ARPS) Multi-craft Core Curriculum (MC3) or the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) Core Curriculum, including any successor curriculum; B)        Workplace readiness skills training using the Illinois Essential Employability Skills Framework or a similar framework; and C)        Training to prevent discrimination, sexism, bullying and harassment within workplaces and that teaches conflict management skills and strategies; 2)         Providing flexible program delivery to improve accessibility and assist participants in overcoming barriers in the way of their Program participation or success.  Programs must include work-based learning and practicum opportunities for participants to perform construction work at job sites either while taking pre-apprenticeship instruction or immediately after completing instruction. If a program, for technical or regulatory reasons, cannot provide hands-on learning experiences, job site visits and tours of U.S. Department of Labor registered apprenticeship programs may be permitted with approval from the Department; 3)         Distributing stipends to program participants that are based on training attendance and performance; 4)         Communicating information to program participants on opportunities and certifications relevant to safety training and clean energy jobs in construction and building trades; and 5)         Connecting program completers to a registered apprenticeship program. e)         Deliver or provide access through referrals for wrap-around and other supportive services that help eligible individuals overcome financial and other barriers to participation in the Program. Climate Works Hubs must offer to Program participants at a minimum access to all of the following support and transition services detailed in this subsection (e), but may offer others as needed. The funding source for these services will either be through the Program funds or from the Energy Transition Barrier Reduction Program (see Section 850.60), which will be determined by the Department depending on the availability of funds and the needs of the participants. See 20 ILCS 605/605-1075(b). 1)         Wrap-around Support Services: A)        Transportation costs, including car repairs, gas cards, or bus passes; B)        Childcare or family care; C)        Driver's education and driver's license fees; D)        Personal health services, including dental, vision and mental health care; E)        Emergency bill payments, rental assistance or emergency housing; F)         Referrals for other services (e.g., food, housing, rental assistance, substance use treatment); and G)        Legal assistance, including record expungement. 2)         Student Support Services: A)        Tutoring; B)        Make-up classes; C)        Re-testing; D)        Educational enrichment; E)        Technology assistance for virtual learning; and F)         Expenses related to certifications, testing or applications. 3)         Transition Support Services: A)        Mentoring and coaching; B)        Job exploration, search and placement services; C)        Resume writing and mock interviews; D)        Job fairs with clean energy employers; E)        Follow-up support services for at least one year after job placement or graduation, whichever comes first, as needed; F)         Education or training costs associated with entering an apprenticeship program; and G)        Other wrap-around supportive services needed to obtain or retain an apprenticeship or employment. f)         Provide case management assistance to participants transitioning to registered apprenticeship programs in construction and building trades with a need for clean energy workforce expansion. Climate Works Hubs also must have a plan for students not enrolling in apprenticeship programs for referrals to advanced construction education and training programs or to employment. g)         Assist the Department as needed to implement a system to track demographic information for program participants, including: 1)         The number of applicants, participants and program completers broken down by race, gender, age, geography and veteran status; 2)         The number of individuals accepted and placed into apprenticeship programs in the construction and building trades broken down by race, gender, age, geography and veteran status; and 3)         The number of individuals who remain in apprenticeship programs in the construction and building trades or have become journeymen after their placements broken down by race, gender, age, geography and veteran status. h)         Develop an assessment plan to improve program delivery. This assessment may include surveys of program graduates regarding overall satisfaction with the training activities delivered and appropriateness to the targeted job opportunities and surveys of employers concerning the comprehensiveness of coverage of required job skills.  In addition, the assessment plan should indicate how the results of the assessment activities will be used to improve the training program in a continuous manner. i)          Cooperate with external evaluation efforts, as directed by the Department. j)          Assist the Department to provide an annual report to the Illinois Works Review Panel by April 1 of each calendar year, which the Department will publish on its website. The annual report shall include the following information: 1) A description of the Climate Works Hub's recruitment, screening, and training efforts, including a description of training related to construction and building trades opportunities in clean energy jobs; 2) The number of individuals who apply to, participate in, and complete the Climate Works Hub's program, broken down by race, gender, age, geography and veteran status; 3) The number of the individuals referenced in subsection (j)(2) who are initially accepted and placed into apprenticeship programs in the construction and building trades broken down by race, gender, age, geography and veteran status ; and 4) The number of individuals referenced in subsection (j)(2) who remain in apprenticeship programs in the construction and building trades or have become journeymen one calendar year after their placement broken down by race, gender, age, geography and veteran status , as referenced in subsection (j)(3). [20 ILCS 730/5-40(b)] k)         Collaborate and coordinate with the Department as well as the grantees and administrators of all programs created by CEJA, including the following: 1)         Clean Jobs Workforce Network Program [20 ILCS 730/5-20]; 2)         Energy Transition Barrier Reduction Program [20 ILCS 730/5-30]; 3)         Energy Transition Navigators Program [20 ILCS 730/5-35]; 4)         Clean Energy Contractor Incubator Program [20 ILCS 730/5-45]; 5)         Returning Residents Clean Jobs Training Program [20 ILCS 730/5-50]; 6)         Clean Energy Primes Contractor Accelerator Program [20 ILCS 730/5-55]; and 7)         Jobs and Environmental Justice Grant Program [20 ILCS 730/5-60].