McLean County Chamber Connects Rivian to Workforce Solutions

Rivian representatives came to the Normal, Illinois area to bid on equipment from Mitsubishi Motors' shuttered plant but conversations they overheard at a local coffee shop made them stay.

Mitsubishi shuttered the facility in 2015, leaving behind a massive plant, idle equipment, and more than 1,000 unemployed workers.

Drawn in by the people and the area’s amenities, including an airport, rail lines, and Illinois State University’s 20,000-plus students, the Rivian reps called CEO Robert J. “RJ” Scaringe and said, in effect, “This could be home,” according to Charlie Moore, president and CEO of McLean County Chamber of Commerce. 

Rivian’s senior leadership engaged early on with the five-star accredited, 1,000-member chamber on workforce priorities. Displaced Mitsubishi workers provided a ready manufacturing workforce.

“The secret sauce is your people,” Moore told CICE. “As a chamber, that’s one of the things we can do: be a connector. We probably don’t know the answer, but we probably know who does. I end every conversation the same way: ‘How can I help you?’”

The region’s educational institutions, including Bloomington Career Academy, Heartland Community College’s new advanced manufacturing center, and Illinois State University’s newly launched College of Engineering, have built curricula around Rivian’s hiring needs, according to Moore.

Rivian opened its production line for the R2 this spring. In addition, Rivian partnered with Redwood Materials to deploy a 10-MWh battery energy storage system at its Normal manufacturing facility, repurposing more than 100 second-life Rivian battery packs to lower costs and strengthen grid reliability during peak demand.

Rivian and Uber also announced a partnership in March 2026 to deploy 10,000 fully autonomous R2 robotaxis, beginning in San Francisco and Miami in 2028 and expanding to 25 cities by 2031.

Chamber aligns schools with workforce needs

Today, Moore said, the chamber is leading a broader talent alignment strategy, convening the area’s largest employers, including State Farm, Ferrero, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, and Rivian, alongside educators to answer three questions: 

• Where are the workforce gaps? 

• Are we closing them? 

• Who is responsible for closing them? 

For chambers and EDOs interested in attracting clean energy investment and manufacturers, Moore’s advice also comes down to three things:

• Let your economic development partners lead on incentives.

• Support elected officials who are willing to, as Moore said, "take some arrows" for smart risks.

• Lean into the chamber's role as a connector.

Watch Moore’s full conversation with CICE about the McLean County Chamber of Commerce and Rivian.

FL Clean Energy - Powering Workforce Development

Chambers for Innovation and Clean Energy (CICE) partnered with the Florida Association of Chamber Professionals to present a panel discussion, ‘Clean Energy - Powering Workforce Development’ at FACP’s bi-annual meeting on May 11, 2022. The panel included: Britta Gross, Orlando Utilities Commissioner  Adrian Brand, Sales and Experience Center Manager, Arcimoto  Racquel Asa, Chief Marketing Officer, BEEP  Don Long, Co-host and CEO, Lake Nona Regional Chamber The panel, moderated by CICE’s Alan Byrd, discussed how rapid growth of the clean energy sector presents economic opportunity in Florida and how critical it is to have a workforce with the right skills and training in order to attract clean energy companies to both urban and rural areas. A key message for the audience of chamber of commerce executives, was to keep in mind that from June to August, hundreds of millions in federal funding will flow into Florida thanks to the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). That funding can be used for transit and clean energy advanced manufacturing, and approximately $200M is coming to the Florida Department of Transportation for EV Charging alone.  Additional key takeaways from the discussion:  Supply Chain and Investment: Britta Gross of the Orlando Utilities Commission emphasized, “This is a moment in time - if we don’t jump on board, we’ll lose significant GDP - due to global competition. There is urgency and a need to manufacture chips and batteries in the US.” This presents an opportunity for Florida as auto manufacturers make multi-billion investment in EVs. Chamber Innovation Insight: Panel co-host and CEO of the Lake Nona Regional Chamber Don Long said that Florida communities need to demonstrate they are ‘willing to innovate’. The entrepreneurial culture built in Lake Nona sends this message. Don urged communities to ‘look at forming a cluster of clean energy companies.” Key Economic Impact for Businesses: Britta Gross provided additional compelling statistics. “By 2030 50% of cars sold will be EVs and 100% by 2035. I’d recommend looking at tourist spots where people want to spend time and install chargers at resorts. For every one minute a person spends in a store while their car is charging, they will spend $1. With a level 2 charger, they may be in a retail location for 50 minutes and will spend $50. See who is willing to raise their hand for having chargers on their property. Be a matchmaker and start to marry the chargers to your member businesses and property owners.” First and Last Mile Innovation: BEEP has the longest running autonomous vehicle network in the US. According to Racquel Asa of BEEP, “We are solving the first and last mile problem and improving transit’. Racquel went on to say “workforce development is significant for us at BEEP. One of our employees started as a shuttle operator and is now an autonomous vehicle support engineer’. Workforce Development: EV manufacturer Arcimoto, maker of a three-wheel and very affordable vehicle, brought one of their cars to the conference. The car has a range of 100 miles and can travel up to 75 miles per hour. According to Adrian Brand, “We need a workforce that is passionate about our product”. The panelists all provided actionable and practical steps for chambers to capture economic opportunity. If you are interested in any of the above takeaways, speakers, or learning more about the workforce and supply chain opportunities of clean energy and resilience, please reach out to Anne or Alan.

If you would like to learn more about navigating clean energy opportunities in your community, please contact Alan Byrd.