Letters Support Training Consortium

“J.F. Brennan Inc., Lawson Marine and Rigging, Riverview Tug Service, Inc. and Alter Logistics are among the river-related companies that have signed letters of support for the Corn Belt Ports Rural Maritime and Logistics Training and Education Consortium, which releases its charter this week. Jointly initiated by Western Illinois University and Corn Belt Ports, the consortium represents a first-of-its-kind regional effort to formalize long-term collaboration supporting the workforce that sustains inland commerce.

The multi-state collaboration is designed to strengthen the inland maritime workforce and support economic growth across the Midwest. The consortium brings together a network of institutions of higher education from Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin, located along the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, including WIU, Black Hawk College, Carl Sandburg College, Culver-Stockton College, Eastern Iowa Community Colleges, Illinois Central College, John Wood Community College, Northeast Iowa Community College, University of Wisconsin–La Crosse and Western Technical College.

This newly established partnership aims to expand workforce training, develop clear career pathways and better align educational programming with employer needs in inland waterways, ports, logistics and maritime-related industries.

‘The Corn Belt Ports is proud to partner with Western Illinois University in the creation of this multi-state consortium to address maritime training and education needs,’ said Chris Smith, director of operations for the Corn Belt Ports. Smith is a former Army Special Forces soldier who grew up in Chillicothe, Ill., on the Illinois River, and he is credited with being a moving force behind the consortium” …

Read the full article here! Story by David Murray, The Waterways Journal Weekly.
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