GP CareerSpark & JA Inspire®

Exposing Greater Peoria students to their future careers.

Each fall, 8th-grade students will gather at the Peoria Civic Center to interact with local professionals. Students act out careers through hands-on activities to visualize their future and lay the foundation for high school studies, preparing them for a career path.

In the spring, High School students explore local employers through an online interactive expo and gain valuable skills for landing the right job for them.

Both experiences are supplemented with the JA Inspire curriculum and resources showcasing our region’s most critical industry clusters and employers, including manufacturing, healthcare, innovation and technology, business and finance, and more.

The experience is presented in partnership by the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council and Junior Achievement of Central Illinois.

Special thanks to our sponsors and You're Hired exhibitors who are not only recruiting local students as future talent, but are also helping us to strengthen our local workforce as well! Caterpillar Inc., Union Pacific, Accenture, Illinois DCEO, PNC, Commerce Bank, Illinois Manufacturers Association Education Foundation, Nicor Gas, Peoria County Regional Office of Education #48, Tazewell County ROE #53, Bayer Crop Science, Morton Industries, SMF Inc., UnityPoint Health, Natural Fiber Welding, Busey Bank, GIVSCO Construction Company, Illinois Central College, Maui Jim, OSF HealthCare, Advanced Medical Transport (AMT), City of Bloomington, Federal Companies, Philippi-Hagenbuch, River City Construction, State Farm, EP!C, Peoria Park District, and Hungry World Farm.