CHICAGO — Tuition-free pre-apprenticeship programs in Illinois are proving to be a key driver of diversity in the construction workforce, according to a new study by the Illinois Economic Policy Institute. By combining skills training with direct pathways into union apprenticeship programs, the initiatives are helping to close labor gaps while bringing more women and people of color into the trades.
The report examined the outcomes of two flagship programs — the Highway Construction Careers Training Program (HCCTP) and the Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program. Together, these efforts enrolled more than 5,800 participants between 2017 and 2024, graduating over 3,500 individuals and placing more than 2,100 into apprenticeships or construction-related jobs.
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From 2017–2023, HCCTP alone enrolled 2,500 participants, graduated 1,900, and placed 1,000 into jobs. The Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program, launched in 2022, enrolled 3,300 participants through 2024, graduating 1,600 and placing 1,100 into opportunities. These placements accounted for 5% of all new apprentices in Illinois, but an even larger share among Black workers (35%) and women (21%).
By comparison, federal labor data from 2024 shows just 6.5% of U.S. construction workers were Black and 11.2% were women, underscoring the outsized impact of Illinois’ initiatives.
“It’s not complicated, it shows the pre-apprenticeship programs work,” said Robert Anthony Bruno, director of the labor education program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and co-author of the report. “With the advantages that the pre-apprenticeship programs provide, they really allow an expanding group of workers who otherwise haven’t been well represented in trades to find opportunity. It’s greater access to skilled workers in an industry that tends to suffer from shortages and missed opportunities.”
Pre-apprenticeships also remove financial barriers by offering tuition-free training, meaning participants can learn without taking on debt. Contractors, in turn, gain a stronger pipeline of skilled labor at a time when workforce shortages remain one of the construction industry’s greatest challenges.
Bruno highlighted that between 2017 and 2024, Illinois enrolled more than 40,000 new construction apprentices, with 96% entering joint labor-management programs affiliated with unions. Those programs had a 65% completion rate, more than double the 29% completion rate of nonunion, employer-only programs.
“When you see percentage increases that are double digits, that’s a robust and sizable increase and exhilarating for the industry,” Bruno said. “These investments are not only in the physical infrastructure, but it recognizes the need to invest in the labor force.”
Norman Ruano, deputy director of the Office of Illinois Works at the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, credited intentional investment from state leadership for the steady growth.
“Since launch, we have seen a steady growth in program participation, particularly from individuals who have been historically underrepresented in the construction trades which we believe is a result of being intentional with our investments and initiatives,” Ruano said via email.
Ruano added that since 2022, labor hours performed by apprentices on Illinois Works-eligible capital projects grew from 11% to 17%, with a rising share performed by women, people of color, and veterans.
Bruno described Illinois’ apprenticeship-readiness initiatives as “the best 360-approach” for workforce development.
“These programs prove you can bring people of color and women into the trades, as there’s not a lack of interest,” Bruno said. “The hope is five to 10 years from now, you really do see a greater use of this and perhaps see some significant changes in the diversity of the workforce. This is just adding workers that are needed into the pipeline.”
With labor shortages persisting across the country, Illinois’ model is being looked at as a potential blueprint for how other states might expand opportunity, improve workforce readiness, and strengthen infrastructure development.
Originally reported by Keith Loria in Construction Dive.
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