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24 area residents complete HIRE360 Pre-Apprenticeship Training

Twenty-four residents of Champaign and Danville have completed HIRE360's 13-week pre-apprenticeship program, earning workplace certifications and preparing for careers in the skilled trades and clean energy. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship and career guidance to help participants move toward union apprenticeships and long-term employment. Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks Graduates from the fall 2026 HIRE360 East Central Illinois Pre-Apprenticeship Program are: Front Row (l-r) : Jeffey Trask, Scyon Harris, John Neville- Kakunda, Pierre Saxon, Josiah Wilson and Andre Grace. Back Row : Christopher Baker, Amari Clark-Crawford, Haley Deverell, Raniya Beauregard, Arnez Hopkins, Jacob Poole, and Ashley Lofton URBANA - For 24 residents of Champaign-Urbana and Danville, graduation means more than completing a training program. It means having new skills, workplace certifications and a better idea of where a career in the skilled trades might take them. The graduates recently completed the HIRE360 East Central Illinois Pre-Apprenticeship Program, a 13-week course designed to help participants prepare for union apprenticeships and careers in clean energy. The program, which began last year, combines hands-on training with mentorship and career guidance. Participants learn from union leaders, earn workplace certifications and visit wind farms, solar farms and other clean energy sites. Some enter the program after