Impact

What has moved, and what has not.

The Alliance set one number as its measure of success: the share of Greater Peoria adults holding a postsecondary credential. It has moved from 40% to 43% since 2017. The goal is 60%. This page is an honest account of the distance covered and the distance left.

A Greater Peoria health careers graduate
  • 43%

    of Greater Peoria adults hold a postsecondary credential

    Up from 40% when the Alliance formed in 2017. The regional goal is 60%.

  • 58

    partner organizations across sectors

    Employers, school districts, colleges, nonprofits, and government agencies.

  • 645

    people credentialed through GPEAK

    Since the essential-skills program launched in Fall 2020.

  • 90%

    of new jobs required a postsecondary credential

    Among jobs created in the region between 2010 and 2016 — the finding that prompted the Alliance.

Progress toward 60%

43%
Goal 60%
  • 40% in 2017, when the Alliance formed
  • 43% today
  • 60% the level seen in economically thriving regions

The gap we have not closed

Three points in eight years is real progress and it is not fast enough to reach 60%. Getting there means reaching adults who are working full time, who did not finish a credential they started, or who face barriers that no training program alone can solve. That is where the Alliance is concentrating next.

What has been built since 2017

  • GPEAK

    Greater Peoria Essential Abilities and Knowledge, launched Fall 2020 with input from more than 85 employer representatives. 645 people have been credentialed.

    How it works

  • A 58-partner coalition

    Employers, school districts, colleges, nonprofits, and government agencies working from one shared measure rather than separate ones.

  • Three standing committees

    Each covering one stretch of the path from school to sustaining work, each co-chaired by two organizations answering to different constituencies.

    See the committees

Read the research

The Alliance's Comprehensive Labor Analysis sets out where the regional workforce stands and where the pressure is building.

Comprehensive Labor Analysis

Nobody reaches 60% alone.

Employers, educators, and community partners are already at the table. Join them.

Get involved