By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — The city plans to partner with a local concrete construction company to provide mentorship and workforce development training to young adults through a summer internship program.
City Council members tonight will consider a workforce development agreement with LT Construction, a minority-owned contractor, to provide the training.
“Part of our crime reduction strategy is to develop initiatives that interrupt the cycle of violence. This collaboration builds equity and opportunity for our young people by providing them with opportunities to develop practical work skills and experience,” Mayor McNamara said in a news release. “This new construction program will provide a career pathway for members of historically underrepresented community and open many doors of opportunity for these young people, including jobs in the trades.”
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LT Construction will provide roughly 4,800 hours of workforce development skills and on-the-job experience to five city-hired interns working on improvements of up to 4,500 lineal feet of sidewalk in the city.
The total cost of the agreement is a maximum of $202,500, which covers all materials, equipment and supplies. The city will also cover the cost of employing the summer interns. The money for the program comes from the American Rescue Plan.
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“Understanding that currently fewer than 10% of apprentices are women or people of color and only 6.3% of
workers currently employed in the industry are Black or African American, it’s critical that equitable
workforce development initiatives are developed that open the doors of opportunity into the construction
industry and the trades and provide a career pathway for members of historically underrepresented
communities,” Kyle Saunders, the city’s director of public works, and Todd Cagnoni, city administrator, wrote in a memo to City Council members.
The city started similar program within the Water Division of the Public Works Department. That program is expected to continue this summer.
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas.