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# Illinois Funds Five Downstate Manufacturing Training Academies
- URL: https://www.theamericanquorum.com/state-news-illinois-2026-09-18-a/
- Published: 2026-09-18T09:28:01.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-18T09:28:01.000Z
- Description: Illinois is funding manufacturing training academies at five downstate community colleges, including a $2.37 million Lewis and Clark award, to expand instruction in robotics, automation, machining and biomanufacturing.
- Author: News Desk
- Tags: State News, Illinois

Illinois will put more than $20 million into manufacturing training academies at five downstate community colleges, expanding the state’s network of hands-on programs for advanced industrial work. The [state announcement](https://www.illinois.gov/news/release.html?releaseid=32925&ref=theamericanquorum.com) names Illinois Central College, Kaskaskia College, Lake Land College, Lewis and Clark Community College and Parkland College as the new or expanded sites.

The academies are intended to train students for work in automation, robotics, industrial maintenance, machining, metal fabrication and biomanufacturing. State officials say the grants can pay for construction, facility improvements and modern equipment, while the colleges will work with regional employers to align programs with local hiring needs. That makes the awards both an education investment and an economic-development tool: the state is placing training capacity near employers outside the Chicago region rather than asking students or companies to rely on a single centralized campus.

Lewis and Clark, in Godfrey, provided the clearest college-level outline of how the money will be used. The school said its [$2,369,150 award](https://www.lc.edu/news/2026/09/lc-awarded-grant-for-new-manufacturing-training-academy.html?ref=theamericanquorum.com) will support an academy focused on automation, industrial maintenance systems, process control and robotics. It plans to improve facilities, buy equipment and expand workforce instruction. The college also said it wants students to earn credentials tied to regional jobs and deepen its work with local manufacturers.

## How the new awards fit the statewide strategy

The five grants extend a program already operating at other community colleges. In a March executive order, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration said Illinois had invested [$42.3 million since 2019](https://www.illinois.gov/government/executive-orders/executive-order.executive-order-2026-03.2026.html?ref=theamericanquorum.com) to build or expand manufacturing training academies at Heartland, Southwestern Illinois, Kankakee and Richland community colleges. The same order said about 57% of Illinois adults currently hold a postsecondary degree or credential, while projections show more than 70% of jobs will require education or training beyond high school by 2031.

Those figures help explain the state’s emphasis on short-term credentials and technical programs, not only traditional four-year degrees. Illinois’ State Attainment Working Group is separately developing a 2040 target for degrees and other credentials of value. Its [published charge](https://www.ibhe.org/AttainmentWG.html?ref=theamericanquorum.com) includes studying workforce needs through 2040, defining which credentials produce economic value and identifying gaps between labor demand and educational attainment.

For prospective students, the immediate practical question is when each college will open enrollment and which certificates will be available. The statewide announcement establishes the recipients and broad training areas, but individual colleges will control program design and rollout. Students and employers should therefore watch the five colleges for course schedules, admission requirements and partnership details as facilities and equipment come online.

The awards do not by themselves guarantee that graduates will fill every local vacancy. Their measurable test will be whether the colleges produce credentials employers use, connect trainees to jobs and sustain enrollment after the capital work is finished. Still, the placement of five academies across central and southern Illinois gives the state a wider platform for addressing a documented gap between current credential attainment and future workforce demand.