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: Why Small Plants Fail: The Resource Chain
Provider: AquaCert LLC, online, self-paced (www.aquacertllc.com)
Credit: 1 hour toward Illinois wastewater operator license renewal
Cost: $19.00
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.
A local workforce board may use part of its funds to help employers train the staff they already have. The employer pays part of the cost: at least 10% with up to 50 employees, 25% with up to 100, and 50% above that, and the board decides the rest. Federal law (29 U.S.C. 3152(h)) does not require this training to come from a provider on the state's approved-provider list. Ask your board before counting on it.
29 U.S.C. 3174(d)(4) · last checked November 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
In one Illinois county, the local workforce board funded training for plants in IRWA's apprenticeship.
The Illinois Rural Water Association has registered Water Operator and Wastewater Operator apprenticeships. In Vermilion County, the local workforce board (Vermilion County Works) provided funding for training costs to the towns taking part. If your plant takes part, ask IRWA and your local workforce board whether AquaCert courses can count toward the classroom hours and whether funding is available where you are.
Illinois workNet success story, April 2024 · last checked November 2026