Since 1966, the Joliet Job Corps Center has helped men and women ages 16 to 24 from disadvantaged backgrounds acquire vocational skills. Instructor Frank Earley (above) watches as Michelle Brown learns a woodworking technique. Fellow students Heather Sorg (left) and Chantay Baker are following Brown’s progress. Tim Williams (left) nails some dryboard before painting at the male dorm. There are 232 students enrolled at the center, 1101 Mills Rd., with 185 of them living there. The center is a national program funded by the U.S. Department of Labor. It has students from five states. Students get training in fields such as carpentry and plumbing, in addition to receiving remedial instruction in reading and math. Those who do not have high school diplomas can work toward their equivalency degrees.
