DuPage County Trade Apprenticeship Expo sees record attendance – NCTV17

Report on the DuPage County Trade Apprenticeship Expo and its Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals

Executive Summary

The sixth DuPage County Trade Apprenticeship Expo, hosted by PowerForward DuPage at the IBEW Local 701 Union Hall, achieved record attendance with nearly 800 registrants. The event serves as a critical platform for connecting young adults with careers in skilled trades, directly addressing key United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By providing information on vocational training and apprenticeships, the expo promotes quality education (SDG 4), fosters decent work and economic growth (SDG 8), and supports the development of sustainable industry and infrastructure (SDG 9).

Event Overview and Strategic Objectives

Event Details

• Host: PowerForward DuPage
• Location: IBEW Local 701 Union Hall
• Participants: Approximately 800 registrants, including high school students, parents, and college graduates.
• Exhibitors: 13 businesses representing various skilled trades.

Primary Objectives

1. To address the impending skills gap created by a retiring workforce in the trades.
2. To promote vocational careers as a viable and valuable alternative to traditional four-year college paths.
3. To provide a direct engagement opportunity between aspiring tradespeople and training directors.

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 4: Quality Education

The expo directly contributes to ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. It highlights apprenticeships as a form of tertiary education that provides practical, job-specific skills, thereby diversifying educational pathways and making skill acquisition more accessible to younger generations.

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

This initiative is a direct response to local economic needs, promoting sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all. The expo’s function aligns with several targets of SDG 8:

• It addresses the need for a new generation of skilled labor to sustain economic productivity as experienced workers retire.
• It creates clear pathways for youth to enter into decent work through structured apprenticeship programs.
• By promoting skilled trades, it supports the diversification and upgrading of the local economy.

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

The skilled trades represented at the expo are fundamental to building, maintaining, and upgrading resilient infrastructure. By cultivating a future workforce of electricians, builders, and other tradespeople, the event supports the development of quality, reliable, and sustainable infrastructure essential for economic development and human well-being.

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

By presenting high-value career paths that do not necessarily require a costly four-year university degree, the expo promotes economic inclusion. These opportunities can provide stable, well-paying careers to individuals from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, thereby contributing to the reduction of income inequality within the community.

Outcomes and Future Outlook

Record Growth and Impact

The event, which began in 2018, has demonstrated consistent growth, with the most recent expo attracting a record number of registrants. This increased turnout signifies a growing awareness and acceptance of skilled trades as a rewarding career path, validating the expo’s mission to “trade the traditional career path for a career in the trades.”

Strategic Importance for Sustainable Development

The DuPage County Trade Apprenticeship Expo serves as a model for local workforce development that is intrinsically linked to global sustainability objectives. By proactively addressing labor market needs and promoting vocational education, the initiative is instrumental in building a skilled, resilient, and inclusive workforce prepared to support sustainable economic growth and community development for the future.

Analysis of the Article in Relation to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

1. SDG 4: Quality Education
   • The article focuses on the DuPage County Trade Apprenticeship Expo, an event designed to provide young adults with information and opportunities for vocational training. This directly supports the goal of ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. The expo is presented as a “wonderful alternative to college,” aiming to “introduce the trades to younger generations,” which aligns with broadening educational pathways.
2. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
   • The initiative described in the article aims to address a labor shortage caused by retiring tradespeople and attract “more young people into the trade.” By connecting youth with careers in skilled trades, the expo promotes productive employment and decent work. The article highlights this as a way to “trade the traditional career path for a career in the trades,” directly contributing to workforce development and sustainable economic growth.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. Target 4.4: Increase the number of youth and adults with relevant skills for employment
   • The article’s central theme is the Trade Apprenticeship Expo, an event created specifically to help young adults “learn from professionals about careers in the trades.” The stated goal is to attract young people and provide them with information to pursue apprenticeships, which directly leads to acquiring “technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship.” The expo connects registrants with 13 businesses and training directors to facilitate this process.
2. Target 8.6: Substantially reduce the proportion of youth not in employment, education or training (NEET)
   • The expo explicitly targets “high school students, parents, and college graduates” to offer a viable career path. By providing a structured way to “gather information” and “meet with the training directors,” the program actively works to guide young people toward employment and training. The article notes the need to “attract more young people into the trade” as a response to workforce retirement, directly addressing the goal of ensuring youth are engaged in productive activities.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

1. Number of participants in vocational training programs
   • The article explicitly states that the expo was “welcoming in close to 800 registrants” and that this was a “record number.” This figure serves as a direct quantitative indicator of the number of young people seeking information and access to vocational skills and training, which is a measure of progress toward Target 4.4. The “steady growth” of the event since 2018 also implies a positive trend for this indicator.
2. Measures of youth engagement in employment and education pathways
   • The record attendance of “close to 800 registrants” can be used as an implied indicator for Target 8.6. It measures the level of interest and engagement among youth in exploring non-traditional career paths that lead to employment. The success of the expo in attracting a large number of young adults is a proxy for its potential to reduce the proportion of youth who might otherwise be unemployed or not in training.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: nctv17.org