PEORIA — Now students, parents, educators and employers can find information relating to part-time work or a career on two new websites recently launched by the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council and the CEO Council.
MakeYourselfGP.org is a new career resource site that will initially focus on District 150 students in Peoria, said Brent Baker, the Peoria Pathways coordinator for EDC. “Once we see how the logistics work out, we’ll roll it out to schools across five counties,” he said.
Ashley Taylor, assistant director of the CEO Council, said that greaterpeoria.works represents a job posting site.
“Our mission is to encourage and assist area employers with providing 1,000 jobs or learning opportunities to students in this area,” she said.
Baker and Taylor explained what the two programs have to offer Thursday morning at a seminar held at agency offices at 100 SW Washington St.
Both sites seek to connect the area’s business community with area students.
“We’re looking to provide employment opportunities — paid and unpaid. They could be micro-internships that last two to four weeks. We’re looking for creative ways to get students engaged,” he said.
Employers have a number of reasons to reach out to student talent, said Baker. “It helps increase awareness of the organization. It’s also an opportunity to identify future employees and test-drive talent,” he said.
The CEO Council set up the greaterpeoria.works site to help counter a job skills and soft skills gap in central Illinois, said Taylor.
The site went live in December and already has 50 companies represented with 36 jobs posted at present, she said.
Read the full article here – Peoria Journal Star
