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BEST, Inc. Receives Apprenticeship Expansion Grant

BEST, Inc. has received a grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity as part of the state’s, and US Department of Labor’s, effort to expand apprenticeship opportunities.  BEST, Inc. is partnering with Illinois Valley Community College (Oglesby, IL), Sauk Valley Area Chamber of Commerce (Sterling, IL), Northwest Illinois Economic Development (Hanover, IL), and Rock Island Tri-County Consortium (Rock Island, IL) to deliver outreach to area businesses across all industry sectors within the 11 county area being served.  Outreach will include making businesses aware of the benefits of sponsoring an apprenticeship program including the positive return on investment,…

Emergency Small Business Grants Helps Local Companies

In April the State of Illinois announced that they had set aside $5M to aid small businesses across the state with layoff aversion strategies that were intended to keep staff employed while also observing the requirement of the CoVid 19 stay at home order issued in March and the subsequent phases toward re-opening. Applicants submitted their applications in April and early May through BEST, Inc. for approval by the state.  Of the $5m earmarked for this effort a total of $94,362.02 has been made available to those local companies whose applications were approved by DCEO. Awards are being made on…