PEORIA, Ill. – Government leaders gathered in Peoria for a roundtable discussion Monday related to infrastructure.
One of the main topics of the discussion featured how to fill engineering jobs in the field. Illinois Secretary of Transportation Omer Osman estimates that more than 75,000 jobs will be needed in the next five years.
Congressman Eric Sorensen (D-East Moline) believes reaching out to students will begin to fill some of those gaps.
“We need to make sure that we’re going back to our schools, to junior highs and to high schools, to make sure that the internship pathway is there, through our skilled labor programs, so that we’re going to have the engineers that we need,” Sorensen said. “So that as we appropriate the funds from the federal government through the Infrastructure Act, that we’re going to be able to get these things done.”
Sorensen is also advocating for letting high school graduates train for engineering jobs as they work, to eliminate the need for a college degree to get work in the field.
Peoria Mayor Rita Ali says programs are already in place in Peoria Public Schools. She cited a mentoring program that connects engineers with students, but also wants to see more hands-on experience opportunities available.
The roundtable also discussed what it means to modernized infrastructure. Osman says part of that includes using materials for building bridges and roads that would increase its lifespan.
He says it also features designing bridges to be used for more than just a means to drive a vehicle across.
“It is bringing all modes of transportation together, whether it’s pedestrian facility, whether it’s bicycle facility, especially in the Peoria and central Illinois area where you have a lot of trails that need to be connected together,” Osman said.
Osman cited the recent addition of a walking and bike path to the rebuilt Bob Michel Bridge as part of that modernization.
He says modernization can also include new ways to move around, saying the proposed Peoria-to-Chicago Amtrak line is part of that.
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