Paying for training
Get your training paid for
Most plants pay for their operators' renewal training. Here is how to ask, what to hand in afterwards, and where else help may come from.
1. Ask your plant to pay
Print the request below, or save it as a PDF and email it, and give it to your supervisor. Pay for the course yourself and turn in the receipt, or ask them to buy it for you. Every receipt is under Receipts in your account, ready to print.
Training request
Operator: ______________________________
Course: ______________________________
Provider: AquaCert LLC, online, self-paced (www.aquacertllc.com)
Credit: ____ hour(s) toward Illinois wastewater operator license renewal
Cost: $________
Why: renewal training for my operator license. I will provide the certificate on completion; any certificate can be checked at https://www.aquacertllc.com/verify.
Approved by: ______________________ Date: ____________
2. Paying for a crew
A supervisor can buy seats for several operators at once, pay by card or purchase order, and get a completion record to export. The more seats, the lower the price of each: see the team prices.
3. Public programs that may help
These are decided by workforce boards, apprenticeship sponsors and state agencies, not by AquaCert, so ask them before you count on the money. Each one links to where we read it, with the date we last checked.
Federal: every state
Incumbent worker training
Your local workforce board may pay part of your plant's cost. The plant applies.
Workforce boards can help employers train the staff they already have. Federal law lets this training come from a provider that is not on the state's approved-provider list, but each board sets its own rules, budget and share the employer pays, so ask yours before counting on it.
29 U.S.C. 3152(h) · last checked October 2026
Registered apprenticeship
If your plant runs a registered apprenticeship, workforce funds may help pay for its training.
Registered apprenticeship programs are automatically eligible for workforce training funds, which can support the training given under the apprenticeship. Whether online courses count toward an apprentice's classroom hours is up to the program's sponsor; ask them.
20 CFR 680.330 · last checked October 2026
Illinois
Illinois local workforce boards
Where Illinois plants ask about the two federal programs above.
Illinois workNet lists every local workforce office. Ask for incumbent worker training for your plant's operators.
Illinois workNet · last checked October 2026
Illinois Rural Water Association apprenticeships
Plants taking part in IRWA's apprenticeship may have its training paid through it.
The Illinois Rural Water Association has registered Water Operator and Wastewater Operator apprenticeships. If your plant takes part, ask IRWA whether AquaCert courses can count toward the classroom hours.
Illinois workNet success story, April 2024 · last checked October 2026