Clean Energy Career Pathway Program – Illinois CTE Pilot Grants for Schools & Workforce Partners

Grant Overview

$250k–$750k for electric-vehicle career pathways in Illinois schools—no match required

Donor: Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO)

About: Illinois is racing to turn every high-school hallway into a launch-pad for clean-tech talent. Behind the $4 million Clean Energy Career Pathway Program sits a blunt reality: the state’s EV-charging build-out, solar roll-outs, and battery plants will stall without a pipeline of trained technicians. DCEO wrote this grant to make sure that pipeline starts in classrooms, not corporate boardrooms.

The department quietly watched Round 1 awardees—mostly downstate community colleges—turn modest planning grants into full-blown EV-curricula that now feed workers straight into Rivian and Lion Electric. They want eight more partners who can replicate that momentum, fast. If your district or nonprofit training provider already talks to local employers about EV maintenance, energy-storage install, or smart-grid sensors, you’re the hero they’re rooting for.

What the funder actually wants

They’re not just buying textbooks. DCEO is buying *pathways* that move low-income or barrier-laden students from ninth-grade curiosity to paid internships to post-secondary credentials—all within two academic years. Awardees who prove they can *track* that progression (think dual-credit agreements plus employer sign-off letters) move to the front of the line.

Inside tip: start with the employer, then build backwards

Past winners opened with letters from charging-network operators promising summer jobs. That single move cut their narrative section from 15 pages to 5, because reviewers could *see* the finish line. If you’re still hunting partners, the Grantaura research team keeps a running list of Illinois employers under CEJA workforce mandates—happy to share on a quick call.

Timeline that wins

– Year 1 can be pure planning curriculum mapping, instructor certs, lab retrofits.
– Year 2 must run at least one cohort through a pilot sequence that ends in either college credit or an industry credential (e.g., EVITP, NABCEP PV Associate).

Budget sweet spots

– Instructor stipends for summer boot-camps: reviewers love this line item.
– Portable EV trainers (think bench-top inverters, not full vehicles) hit the “equipment” checkbox without busting the cap.
– Student support services bus passes, child-care stipends signal equity, a CEJA buzzword that scores points.

Focus: clean energy, career & technical education, electric vehicles, youth workforce development, CEJA, dual credit pathways, employer partnerships, equity

Region: Illinois, IL, United States, USA

Eligibility:
– Regional Offices of Education (ROEs)
– Intermediate Service Centers (ISCs)
– Illinois public school districts
– Charter schools, lab schools, area vocational centers
– Community colleges & state universities
– Trade associations, industry consortia, 501(c)(3) workforce nonprofits
– Indian tribes or tribal organizations
– Applicants must be pre-qualified in the GATA portal

Benefits:
– Individual awards: $250,000 – $750,000
– Total pool: $4,000,000 for up to 8–15 grants
– Two-year project period (extensions possible)
– No cost-share or match required
– Indirect costs allowed (NICRA or de minimis)
– Free technical-assistance webinars and one-on-one office hours

Deadline: April 1, 2025 (5:00 PM Central Time)

Terms:
– CEJA: Climate and Equitable Jobs Act – Illinois law driving clean-energy workforce training funds
– GATA Pre-Qualification: Required online registration and risk assessment via gata.illinois.gov
– NOFO: Notice of Funding Opportunity – the formal solicitation document
– EVITP: Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program – an industry credential reviewers like to see
– Dual Credit: High-school course that simultaneously earns college credit
– Work-Based Learning: Paid internships, apprenticeships, or job shadowing embedded in the pathway
– Barrier to Employment: Defined by WIOA as low-income, English-learner, foster, homeless, or justice-involved status
– LWIA: Local Workforce Innovation Area – regional workforce boards that must be consulted