Customer Testimonials

“I am proud to be on a board with so many influential members of business, education, and communities in our nine counties.”

Western Illinois Works Purpose

One of the main purposes of WIW is to help upskill/retrain the current workforce when it is needed. We also want to give students information about what is available in the workforce. Not every job needs a 4-year college education, so what are other options to include direct to the workforce or a technical training program?

We want to show them what they can be doing during high school to prepare for the workforce. The FAME program is a good example of this. WIW, JWCC and a group of local employes have worked together over the last year to develop this program which targets high school students to bring them into the skilled trades field.

There was a lot of discussion back and forth before it was all put in place on how to make it work best for all involved. Now the initial class of students has begun working and going to school to be apprentices in the maintenance area at these companies.

Value Western Illinois Works Brings to Knapheide

We have worked with WIW on many training programs to help upskill our supervisors, automation team, etc. This is a huge benefit to the company because we can send more people through training for a lesser cost. We have also worked with WIW on work study programs, career fairs and other things related to bringing more people into the workforce.

Value Knapheide Brings to Western Illinois Works

I believe that Knapheide has been a good business partner. We have been asked by many organizations to show our support and we have been able to partner with WIW and so many of the other members (JWCC, IDES) over the years by working on various projects together.

My Role with Western Illinois Works

As the chair, I think my purpose is to start and engage in conversation. Many times, in meetings, nobody wants to be the first to speak up. I will do that to get the conversation rolling and then it blooms from there and is typically very productive.

Western Illinois’ Impact in the Community

WIW is here to be a positive force to help those when in need to be able to move towards a goal and a better life by working on their skills and gaining necessary experience/knowledge to get the next level up job to support their families.

They are also here to support our local education systems and business, and connect those individuals in need with the proper people to get to those end results.

Most Rewarding Aspect of Partnering with Western Illinois Works

It is rewarding to see how when all of us on the board work together, we can come up with great ideas of how to make improvements that not only affect all of our businesses, but the job seekers in our area.

How Western Illinois Works Impacts Knapheide Employees

We have a number of employees who wanted the opportunity to move into new roles. The funding that WIW has assisted us with on the incumbent worker grants has allowed several people to return to school and learn the necessary skills to receive these promotions and are now have the knowledge to work in these more technical positions.

Why I Support Western Illinois Works

WIW is here for the greater good of our nine counties and all the communities within. From the student to job seeker to businesses, they want everyone to be successful.

Looking Forward

I think we will continue to work together on training, other projects, working with JWCC when new training needs come up. I hope that I will be able to continue being a business contributor on the board after my term as the chair this fall.

“WIW is here to be a positive force to help those when in need to be able to move towards a goal and a better life by working on their skills and gaining necessary experience/knowledge to get the next level up job to support their families.”

Barriers I Faced

There were many barriers for me, from finding daycare, to working full time third shifts as a CNA or as a psych tech, and the worst barrier was my mental health.

I suffer from severe depression, anxiety, and PTSD. When you have been through traumatic experiences it changes you as a person for better or worse.

In spite of all the things I’ve been through, I bottled up my pain behind a mask. Lost in my head, it was easy for me to just give up on my dreams, my goals, and my hobbies.

When I started my CNA classes I knew I couldn’t quit. I knew people were depending on me and I wanted to show everyone I could do it. It just took me back to when I loved school. I felt like I found a part of me that I was missing. I loved that I challenged myself to actually try and get the job done.

“I became a success story through Two Rivers who also participated in my success.”

My Turning Point

When I was pregnant with my first son, I was in a debate with myself about finishing school or just getting a 9 to 5 job and settling for a job I know I will never enjoy, and I kept hearing myself say I wasn’t going do it.

I remember sitting in the car and praying for help, a type of guidance to my success, it was a matter of time God started moving mountains for me, knocking down barriers that would never move before every test I sat and had a discussion with him and when I came out, I just knew I passed.

God showed me I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me (Philippians 4:13) literally.

What I Would Tell Other People About my Experience

I would tell them that I had no hope whatsoever in myself. I was letting my trauma define me. I was letting other people get in my head to the point where I started to believe them myself.

I had to shake myself out of it; you have to shake yourself out of it. There comes a time when the whole world is on your shoulders or you feel a sense of loneliness or like ‘No one cares, why should I?’ And I want to answer that you are your own purpose no one can define you but you.

You have to prove to yourself that even when you are your biggest enemy, you can, and you will when you walk through the doors at school you have to take a deep breath and say “I am and I will!”

Turn your phone off and concentrate. You can be your biggest asset or your biggest failure. Every choice you make defines who you are in the end.

I would have to say the anxious feeling of not knowing if I’m going to make it in life was the most difficult thing about pursuing my education. I think about it a lot, and it’s a mental battle of whether I’m pursuing the right passion and if this is what God has planned for me.

Right now, I’m learning to put my faith in him because he won’t steer me wrong. And don’t forget to make time for you. Self love is the key to a relaxing time!

Most Rewarding Experience

I won a scholarship. I became a success story through Two Rivers who also participated in my success. I gained a longtime friend in my instructor Stephanie. And most importantly, my kids got to see me do it.

How I Heard About the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)

My instructors had told me about Two Rivers helping with CNA classes. I felt like this was a good option for me because I felt like I knew what I wanted to do and how I wanted to succeed in life. I just needed help accomplishing my goals and they did that for me.

“I would tell people that WIOA is a great opportunity to take advantage of.”

Our WIW Experience

JWCC worked more loosely with WIW before the 2014 WIOA legislation established adult education as a core partner. The availability of funding through the WIOA Out-of-School Youth Grant led JWCC to partner with WIW. This partnership provides us more resources and practical ways to provide workforce readiness services more directly to each student.

I am proud to represent JWCC and WIW due to the impact these opportunities have on the students’ lives. Many of our students have had a lot of challenges and sometimes don’t believe they can achieve their goals and live above their previous struggles.

I believe WIW plays an important role in providing a bridge for individuals who might otherwise just settle for poverty and a life of unfulfilled dreams. In addition, WIW also serves to empower and provide skills that would otherwise be missing from our workforce and the economy of our communities.

As we often see, wasted skills and discouraged individuals affect future generations, so by helping individuals gain skills and elevating them above their struggles, we change the trajectory of their children and grandchildren as well.

As a WIW partner, JWCC Adult Education serves as a steppingstone for individuals to position themselves ready to be catapulted forward – often with the help of the WIW assistance and programs. On a personal level, I love to see people find their purpose and achieve beyond their dreams.

In my experience, WIW serves as a bridge-builder for broken dreams for individuals and as an important partner to local and regional employers. Not only do the individuals benefit from the programs – their success may even inspire their network and families to pursue their own dreams in becoming everything they can, and that we as a society need them to be.

The most challenging aspect as a partner of WIW is to help people understand the value of the opportunities set before them. It’s truly within their power to change their lives.

On the flip side, it is very rewarding to see our students flourish doing things and going places they never thought they could. A changed life is the greatest reward for all of us.

We have had several students who qualified for WIW programs including some who just finished their first college course through an ICAPS logistics class. They all agree it was a great introduction to college level education. They also agree the class will help them get a good-paying job.

A couple of students stated the logistics class is directly related to their chosen career path. Another student just finished her CNA class, while other students have gained important skills through the Paid Work Experience program.

If another agency or an employer is curious about becoming a WIW partner, I would want them to know that these workforce programs create one of the best pipelines for undiscovered and previously untrained talent and skills – resources that are so vital to our society becoming the best it can be.

Looking forward, the opportunities ahead for the partnership of JWCC and WIW include expanding the ICAPS programs to serve more students and adding all career fields. With these partnerships, we can provide much-needed credentialing leading to self-sustaining wages.

I’m excited to see the programs grow and students leap into the future with their dreams and skills coming together.

“On a personal level, I love to see people find their purpose and achieve beyond their dreams.”

Self-Sufficiency

Ebony was hired full-time by Pella Corporation in Macomb. She is still seeking a job opportunity within the medical field. Her case manager at the McDonough County Office in Macomb was essential in helping Ebony with these services during the past few years.

As in so many cases, when the odds are stacked against someone, they must reach down and find the grit and determination to keep on going, and that is just what Ebony did during her time in the WIOA program.

Finding Success

Ebony was especially persistent when she was juggling school, a job, a child, and taking care of relatives who were ill. It is a true testament to her steadfastness.

Ebony found the confidence she didn’t even know she possessed.

Surviving and Thriving

Through the WIOA program, Sarah received tuition assistance, books, fees, scrubs and shoes, mileage reimbursement for training, and monthly gas cards from SNAP to cover getting to work.

Sarah’s employer worked with her, adjusting her schedule to part-time on weekends, so she could continue her training, and offered her a position as an LPN when she was licensed.

Sarah said that she was able to survive and thrive because she was not working full-time and trying to excel at a rigorous course of study. 

Since then, Sarah has graduated and has completed her final licensure test.

When Sarah started in the program, she was receiving $15 per hour and barely covering her monthly expenses. As an LPN, Sarah makes $27 an hour at her current employer.

Sarah has almost doubled her income, moved into a home that fits her family, and because of Western Illinois Works, has a sustaining career, all within a year of her original application.

Sarah said, “I did want to add a huge thank you to the WIOA program. I couldn’t have done this without the support.”

“Sarah was determined to make a better life for herself and her children. She knew she was capable of more, and she was right.”