ONE OF TEN WAYS UP

Trades

Electricians, pipefitters, welders, carpenters. Five-year apprenticeships where you earn a real paycheck from day one and finish with zero college debt and a union card. Journeyman electricians in this area make more than a lot of people with master's degrees.

Get paid to learn. Electric. Welding. HVAC. Construction. A young man and a mentor wiring an electrical panel in a workshop, sparks glowing behind them.
Zero college debt. Real skills. Start with ECCA. Move into an apprenticeship. A student marking a cut line on lumber while a mentor guides his measurement.
Build it. Wire it. Get paid. Paycheck from day one. Skill for life. A young tradesman with a tool bag walking out of a copper ring of welding, HVAC, and solar work.

The Plan

  1. Junior year: get into ECCA

    The Early College and Career Academy at Parkland lets you take construction, auto tech, or welding for dual credit while you're still in high school. Most districts cover the tuition.

  2. Take the shop classes your school already has

    Unit 4 has woodworking, carpentry, and welding classes that hand out real credentials like OSHA 10. Free, during the school day.

  3. Do the Summer Construction Program

    EFE #330 runs a summer program with hands-on lab work and visits to the actual union halls. It pays a stipend, and the unions remember faces.

  4. At 18: apply to an apprenticeship or SWFT

    Every union hall in the area is taking applications. If you need a certificate first, SWFT pays Parkland tuition and even helps with gas and childcare.

  5. Show up on time for five years

    That's genuinely most of it. The trades pay people who show up. At the end you're a journeyman with a pension.

Where To Start, Right Here In Town

Early College & Career Academy (EFE #330 at Parkland)

A year on Parkland's campus during your junior or senior year: construction trades, automotive tech, welding, and more, worth 10 to 14 college credits plus industry credentials. There's also a paid Summer Construction Program with union hall visits.

WHO High school juniors and seniors in Champaign, Urbana, and area districts COST About $2,000/yr, and many districts pay all of it

Tell your counselor you want ECCA, or call the office at Parkland: (217) 355-1382.

SWFT — Skilled Workforce Fast Track (Parkland)

For 18 and up: SWFT pays for short-term Parkland certificates in construction, manufacturing, CDL truck driving, HVAC, and solar. It also covers books, and adds stipends for attendance and completion, plus help with transportation and childcare. This is the fastest free route from nothing to a paycheck skill.

WHO 18+, income-based screening, high school diploma or GED COST Free if you qualify, with stipends on top

Email swft@parkland.edu or call 217-353-2150.

IDOT Highway Construction Careers Training (Parkland)

A free 14-to-18-week bootcamp for highway construction: trade math, concrete, blueprint reading, forklift, OSHA 10. Built specifically to get more minority workers into the road-building unions, and it pays you $10 an hour while you train.

WHO 18+, driver's license, diploma or GED COST Free, and you get paid to attend

Email communityeducation@parkland.edu or call 217-351-2235 and ask when the next info session is.

IBEW Local 601 Electrical Apprenticeship

The local electricians' union apprenticeship: five years, paid from your first day, ending in a journeyman card and union wages. You need one full credit of high school algebra, so take algebra seriously now. The pipefitters (UA 149 in Savoy), carpenters (Local 243), and laborers (Local 703) run similar programs.

WHO 18+, diploma or GED with 1 credit of algebra, driver's license COST $30 application fee; you earn wages while training

Call 217-352-3704 and ask about application days. Bring your birth certificate when you go.