EAST PEORIA, Ill. – More than 400 high school students learned about what opportunities are available to them in the agriculture industry and more.
Illinois Central College’s 5th annual Agriculture, Diesel, and Horticulture Showcase took place on the college’s East Peoria campus Friday.
The event featured more than 20 local businesses and organizations on hand at the agricultural building to showcase jobs and career opportunities after high school students graduate. The horticultural building featured hands-on demonstrations to teach students skills, such as brick laying, flower arrangement, and even flying drones.
Diesel Program Coordinator Colin Campbell says most of those opportunities available are here in central Illinois, especially in small towns such as Roanoke, Henry, and Lacon.
“You don’t have to necessarily move away to get really good paying jobs, to find really successful careers,” Campbell said. “These are all businesses, these are all companies that are right here in small town central Illinois.”
Campbell says those types of jobs will keep young people in central Illinois.
He says one advantage to some of the agricultural jobs on display at the expo was not needing a lot of money to be trained for them.
“You don’t have to go to a university and be $30, $40, $50,000 in debt. You can come to ICC, you can spend $10, $20,000. And then when you graduate, you can go right into that job where you’re making $50, $60, $70,000,” Campbell said.
Campbell says, overall, the goal of the event is to bring awareness to the opportunities that would be available to high school students after graduation.
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