Learn About Roadway Construction Careers

The Illinois Tollway is hosting a free 2012 Road Work Ahead: Construction Careers Expo to help people interested in roadway construction careers learn more about the skills and training needed to work on upcoming projects as part of the Tollway’s 15-year, $12 billion capital program, Move Illinois: The Illinois Tollway Driving the Future.   

“The construction industry is projected to gain as many as 1.8 million new jobs in the U.S. before 2020,” said Illinois Tollway Executive Director Kristi Lafleur. “Our goal is to bring together people interested in roadway construction careers with unions and training resources to help get new workers started.” 

The Construction Careers Expo will be held from 1-5 p.m. on October 18, at the Prairie State College Business and Community Education Center in Chicago Heights. 

The expo will feature a presentation from the Chicago and Cook County Building Trades Council on skills needed to qualify for membership in various construction unions, breakout sessions on construction career education options and training programs, as well as the opportunity to meet one-on-one with trade union representatives and community partners across the Chicago metropolitan area. 

“This is the first construction careers expo event ever hosted by the Illinois Tollway,” said Tollway Board Director David Gonzalez. “The Tollway plans to invest $12 billion on roadway infrastructure over the next 15 years and we are committed to having a skilled and diverse workforce on our projects.” 

The following skilled and construction trade unions will be available to provide information and answer questions about roadway construction jobs, including:

• Architectural Ironworkers Local 63
• Carpenters
• Cement Workers 
• Electricians
• Laborers
• Operating Engineers Local 150
• Reinforcing Iron Workers Local 1

The expo will also include breakout sessions with training providers and community resource organizations including the Chicago Urban League, Chicago Women in Trades, The Line & Option Center Inc., Illinois Department of Transportation’s Highway Construction Careers Training Program, the Illinois Community College Board, the Illinois Department of Employment Securities, Quad County Urban League and YouthBuild Lake County. The Construction Careers Expo demonstrates the Tollway’s commitment to carrying out the recommendations of its Strategic Advisory Team to continue to build upon the success of the agency’s diversity programs. 

The Strategic Advisory Team, composed of a diverse array of business, labor, transportation planning and advocacy and hospitality management interests, delivered its recommendations to the Tollway in its 2010 report, “A Roadmap to the Future.” 

The Strategic Advisory Team recommended that the Tollway:

• Make it easier to do business with the Tollway by improving access to employment and resources for populations that are often bypassed. 
• Build upon the success of the Earned Credit Program to help disadvantaged populations gain access to employment, job training and union membership in the construction industry.
• Stimulate the development of local small businesses to bring new jobs to the communities where Tollway assets exist. 

Earlier this year, the agency’s Department of Diversity and Strategic Development hosted networking events for professional services firms and construction contractors and subcontractors. The Department of Diversity and Strategic Development was established in December 2011 to increase access to economic opportunities for disadvantaged, minority- and women-owned businesses, as well as underemployed individuals. For more information about the 2012 Road Work Ahead: Construction Careers Expo or to register, please visit the Illinois Tollway’s website at www.illinoistollway.com.