CHICAGO — Illinois Governor JB Pritzker announced an expansion to the Illinois Works Grant on Friday.

The event took place at St. Augustine College in Chicago. The school is, “rooted in a bilingual environment to help students from all walks of life overcome the obstacles and challenges that prevent them from academic and career success,” according to their website.

The additional $13 million for the Illinois Works Grant will focus on pre-apprenticeship programs throughout the state. In those programs students are both learning and working concurrently as they train towards a full apprenticeship, certificate or degree.

The $9.3 million initial round of the grant, first announced in January 2022, was awarded to 23 organizations with construction pre-apprenticeship programs.