While many high school seniors are preparing for college, there are other classmates considering a trade like welding.
Students in the welding program at Manual Academy now will have an advantage because of a Caterpillar contribution. The company delivered the second installment of a three-year, $300,000 grant to Peoria Public Schools Tuesday.
Manual teacher Andrew Rice says the donation, in part, helps buy the same equipment that students will eventually use when they enter the workforce. “As a teacher, I’m excited to now have the equipment and the resources that allows me to work with students on skills that they can walk out the door and utilize as a high quality candidate for a Caterpillar position or another employer in our own backyard.”
Robert Brock is the manager of Caterpillar’s East Peoria facilities. He told the Peoria Manual Academy welding students the company has some job openings. “We also need to encourage those students to pursue those career opportunities. In fact, there’s opportunities available today. For Caterpillar in the Peoria area, we have over 200 openings right now for production workers. So if any of you are graduating soon, I’d like to do my part and encourage you to get one of these cards from Mr. Rice and apply.”
A portion of the $300,000 grant is for Pathways to Prosperity and Alignment Peoria. The two programs encourage cooperation between the business community and Peoria schools.