Lake County’s Health and Community Services Committee on Aug. 5 approved accepting a $275,000 Apprenticeship Expansion Grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and authorized an emergency appropriation and the addition of one full‑time apprenticeship navigator.

The grant is the third year of a five‑year cycle to fund apprenticeship navigators who work with employers to build registered apprenticeships and pre‑apprenticeship “earn-and-learn” programs. "This is a really great opportunity here in Lake County," Workforce Development Director Jennifer Serino said during the committee meeting.

The county has used prior years of the grant to develop apprenticeships in manufacturing — including industrial maintenance and CNC operation — and to pilot care‑economy pathways. Serino told the committee the additional funding will allow Lake County to hire a second specialist focused on the care economy, which she defined as health care, education and social services. "With this grant, we are able to hire a second specialist that is focused on the care economy," she said.

Serino said the workforce team has placed 19 apprentices with social service agencies through a youth development practitioner apprenticeship and has worked with Waukegan High School to create paraprofessional apprenticeships that lead toward teaching certification. The new specialist will also provide technical assistance to the McHenry County Workforce Network, which Serino said currently lacks an apprenticeship specialist.

The committee approved the resolution by voice vote; the motion passed on an affirmative voice vote of "Aye." The meeting record shows a voice vote but does not list individual roll‑call votes.

What the committee approved is acceptance of the grant award, an emergency appropriation of $275,000 to the Lake County Workforce Development Department, and an increase in headcount by one full‑time employee to serve as the apprenticeship navigator focused on care‑economy employers. Projects and specific apprenticeship contracts funded with the grant will be brought before the committee as they are developed.