PEORIA – Students from Manual, East Peoria, and Morton high schools celebrated completion of Caterpillar’s Essentials for Life (E4L) training program and signed offer letters to work for the manufacturing giant during a ceremony at the Caterpillar Visitor Center.
“I’m really excited to start my new career,” said Darren McClendon, who will begin working as a full-time Caterpillar machinist after graduating from Manual this month. “I want to start today.”
E4L is a student trainee program designed to prepare high school seniors for manufacturing and engineering careers. Over the course of a school year, students gain practical experience through internships and on-the-job training at Caterpillar facilities.
Finn Miller signs his letter of intent to work for Caterpillar Inc. after graduation, the last of 19 local high school students recognized in a signing ceremony Thursday, May 1, 2025, at the Caterpillar Visitors Center in Downtown Peoria. The seniors from Manual, East Peoria and Morton completed the Essentials for Life (E4L) Student Trainee Program, an on-the-job experience geared toward a career in manufacturing.
Tim Young, Caterpillar’s director of manufacturing, said E4L began as a partnership with Manual High School, then expanded to include Morton and East Peoria high schools. The first graduating class consisted of five students, but class sizes gradually grew over the years. This year, 19 students completed the program.
“Students rotate roles about five times during the course of the year,” Young said. “The intent here is to give them a broad understanding of manufacturing. As a bonus, these students are paid Caterpillar employees.”
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Caterpillar mentors also teach trainees life skills such as interview training, resume writing, time management and budgeting.
Morton High School principal Kirk Edwards hailed the successful partnership and believes programs like E4L help serve an entire high school’s student body.
“I’m always excited when schools and communities can work together to give students these kinds of opportunities,” he said. “The students who participated in this program … have the kinds of opportunities that very few students in central Illinois have.”
Out of the 19 students who completed E4L this year, 13 signed contracts for full-time positions at Caterpillar. The remaining six accepted Caterpillar internships while they attend college.
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East Peoria senior Bernard Malott-Beeney will begin working full time as a Caterpillar assembler after he graduates.
“I’ve been doing hands-on work ever since I was little,” he said. “I started doing windows, siding, and roofing when I was 13 and knew I wanted to work with my hands.”
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Caterpillar to hire 13 students to full-time jobs after graduation
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