Adult Education Innovation Grants
A major priority of the Governor’s Workforce Board is to raise the skill level of the existing workforce in Rhode Island. One of the most pressing training needs is improved language skills and work readiness skills. Working closely with the state’s Director of Adult Education, the board has provided $4.5 million in 2008 alone to support the multi-year Adult Education Innovation Grants. Additional partners, including the Lifespan, the RI Board of Governors for Higher Education; Rhode Island College; the RI Department of Administration, Office of Library and Information Services; the RI Department of Children, Youth and Families, the RI Department of Corrections; the RI Department of Elementary and Secondary Education; the RI Department of Health;the RI Department of Human Services; the RI Department of Labor and Training; the RI Foundation; the RI General Assembly; the RI Office of the Governor; and the United Way of RI, helped bring the total amount of awarded to adult education service providers for 2008 to more than $9 million. Adult Education Innovation Grant winners include:

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Comprehensive Worker Training Grants
The Governor’s Workforce Board RI recently awarded $398,335 in Comprehensive Worker Training Grants to 17 Rhode Island companies. The matching grants, which range in size from $2,211.50 to $50,000, will help more than 1,000 Rhode Island-based employees improve their existing skill sets. Financing for these grants comes from the state's Job Development Fund.

Funded proposals in the latest grant round included underwater exhibit training at Something Fishy Inc., arborist training for North-Eastern Tree Service, electronic medical records training for Urologic Specialist of New England and gaming technology training for Hasbro, Inc.

The 15-member Governor’s Workforce Board RI supports strategies that improve the existing skill base of the Rhode Island workforce and that anticipate the future needs of growing and emerging businesses. Since its inception in 2005, the Governor’s Workforce Board has awarded $11.4 million in matching worker training grants that have improved the skills of more than 20,000 Rhode Island-based workers.

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Workforce Expansion Grants
Each year, new and expanding Rhode Island businesses benefit from Workforce Expansion Grants that allow them to elevate the skill level of their new employees. Jointly awarded by the Governor’s Workforce Board and the RI Economic Development Corporation, Workforce Expansion Grants allow up to a 50 percent reimbursement for training costs. Companies must maintain their employment level for a minimum of 18 months from the grant end date. Since July 2006, nearly $1.5 million in grants have helped to grow the skills of employees at the following companies:

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Youth Strategy Grants This spring, the Governor’s Workforce Board collaborated with the two local workforce boards—Workforce Solutions of Providence/Cranston and the Workforce Partnership of Greater Rhode Island—to allocate $2 million in funding for a new flexible model of youth career services delivery. The new model emphasizes collaboration rather than competition among partners; it also allows each service provider to focus on its area of expertise rather than attempt to fulfill all aspects of workforce development. These funds have been leveraged with an additional $3 million in federal funding to create a youth workforce system for Rhode Island that is considered a “best practice” for other states. 2007 Youth Strategy Grant recipients include:

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