GWBRI Latest News - Industry Skills Development Initiative

Rhode Island's two local workforce investment boards, the Workforce Partnership of Greater Rhode Island and Workforce Solutions of Providence/Cranston, are releasing up to $500,000 to Rhode Island businesses in order to finance customized training programs for new hires.

The two local workforce investment boards will co-host an information session for interested businesses on Wednesday, March 18, from 8:30 am to noon at the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training office, 1511 Pontiac Ave., Cranston.

While participating businesses are required to contribute up to 50 percent toward the cost of training, this percentage is determined on a case-by-case basis. Training may be conducted by company staff, or it may be contracted through a third party; however, the third-party training organization must either offer industry-recognized certificates or be an approved recipient of Pell grants and Veterans' benefits.

To be eligible, businesses must apply for training funds for new full-time employees, hired due to workforce expansion or worker replacement. Enrollees in training may be chosen by the companies themselves, or may be recruited with help of the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training Business Services Unit. Hiring is contingent on completion of the program. Training must conclude by December 31, 2009.

This initiative is financed by the federal Workforce Investment Act. Funding is allotted each local workforce investment board by the Governor's Workforce Board, a state-wide, policy-making board which serves as both the State Workforce Investment Board and the Human Resource Investment Council of Rhode Island.

Environmentally friendly industries get a boost this spring when the Governor’s Workforce Board RI awards up to $150,000 for an industry partnership entitled “Emerging Industries: Green Technologies.”

This week, the Governor’s Workforce Board released a Request for Proposals for this new industry partnership, which will help Rhode Island business leaders identify and sustain job opportunities in such areas as clean energy, construction and utilities. The board defines “green technology” as technology employing best-known environmental science applications and methodologies to create competitive business solutions that are socially equitable, economically viable and environmentally sound and that minimize the negative impacts of human involvement on the natural environment.

Green technologies can become an important engine of job creation and economic development in our state’s future,” says Governor Donald L. Carcieri. “Rhode Island must prepare for these careers now by identifying and investing in the right workforce training.”

According to the Governor’s Workforce Board, an industry partnership is a multi-employer collaborative that brings management and labor together to improve its industry’s competitiveness. Existing industry partnerships include the Hospital Association of Rhode Island, Tech Collective (Biotechnology and Information Technology), Quality Partners of Rhode Island, Building Futures/The Providence Plan, Rhode Island Manufacturing Extension Services, Rhode Island Marine Trades Association, and the Rhode Island Hospitality and Tourism Association.

While the duration of the industry partnership award is 12 months, a partnership can be renewed in one-year increments for up to two years, depending on performance. The lead applicant agency must have the fiscal and administrative capability to receive and manage federal and state grant funds.

Proposals are due by April 10, 2009. Applicants are strongly encouraged to attend a pre-proposal conference on Tuesday, March 3, at the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training offices in Cranston. Pre-registration is required by calling (401) 462-8860. For interpreter services, call TDD (401) 462-8006 three days prior to the meeting.

The 15-member Governor's Workforce Board 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 creation in September 2005, the Governor's Workforce Board has made more than $41 million-worth of strategic investments in Rhode Island that reward collaboration among the state's employment, education and economic development entities.

An estimated 4,000 workers in Rhode Island can receive on-the-job training when the Governor’s Workforce Board RI awards up to $2 million in employee training grants this winter.

“The Governor’s Workforce Board grants are a $4-million public and private sector investment in Rhode Island workers,” Governor Donald L. Carcieri said. “These grants enable businesses to upgrade their programs while providing employees with training in the skills they need to be adequately equipped for today’s jobs. Investing in our workforce is an investment in the future of our state.”

Through the 2009 Comprehensive Worker Training Grants, eligible employers can apply for up to $50,000 in matching grants to fund employee training designed to improve worker productivity, operational efficiency and/or workplace innovation. Funding for the Comprehensive Worker Training grants comes from the state's Job Development Fund; only those employers who pay into the fund are eligible to apply for Comprehensive Worker Training Grants.

“Workforce training can serve as both a business retention strategy and an economic development strategy,” says Governor's Workforce Board Chair Joseph MarcAurele. “A skilled workforce can help a business operate more efficiently during leaner times and capitalize on growth opportunities during more prosperous times.”

A copy of the Comprehensive Worker Training Grants Request for Proposals can be downloaded from www.rihric.com. Proposals for training grants must be received no later than 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 6 at the Governor’s Workforce Board RI offices, 1511 Pontiac Avenue, Building 72-2, Cranston, RI 02920. Employers who received a GWB Comprehensive Worker Training Grant in 2008 are not eligible to apply.

A pre-proposal conference is scheduled for 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at the Community College of Rhode Island Flanagan Campus, 1762 Louisquisset Pike, Lincoln. Pre-registration is required. For more information or to pre-register, contact Dan Brown by phone at (401) 462-8823 or by email at dbrown@dlt.ri.gov.

The 17-member Governor's Workforce Board 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 creation in September 2005, the Governor's Workforce Board has made more than $41 million-worth of strategic investments in Rhode Island that reward collaboration among the state's employment, education and economic development entities.




ISDI Overview (pdf)		ISDI Partners (pdf)

$3.3 Million Strategic Investment in Rhode Island Workforce Today at the netWORKri One-Stop Career Center in West Warwick, Governor Donald L. Carcieri announced the Industry Skills Development Initiative, a $3.3 million collaboration among public agencies and private industry designed to raise the skill levels of Rhode Island workers in strategically selected, high-growth industries. The initiative, funded by the Governor’s Workforce Board Rhode Island, targets the Information Technology, Hospitality, Construction and Marine Trades industries through a multi-prong strategy: • to improve the skills of the current workforce and to grow the availability of skill-specific training • to improve industry outreach to current jobseekers • to engage the next generation of workers in industry-related learning opportunities • to build awareness of industry-specific career opportunities and career ladders among the general public. The local workforce investment boards—the Workforce Partnership of Greater Rhode Island and Workforce Solutions of Providence/Cranston—have contracted with four industry partners to enact this multi-prong strategy on a statewide level. The four partners—the Rhode Island Hospitality Association Education Foundation, Building Futures/Providence Plan, the Rhode Island Marine Trades Association and Tech Collective—are among eight preexisting industry partners that have been collaborating with the Governor’s Workforce Board for the past two years to identify workforce skill gaps. “There is a critical need to address the skills gaps with Rhode Island workers,” said Governor Donald L. Carcieri. “This initiative is a step in the right direction, and I commend the Governor’s Workforce Board for aggressively addressing the skills mismatch and getting people into good paying jobs. I also commend the industry partnerships for actively participating in the solution. We cannot solve the problem of skills in Rhode Island without the help and support of business.” Robert Ricci, executive director of Workforce Solutions of Providence/Cranston, states, “The Industry Skills Development Initiative meets the challenge of aligning training resources and services with the short- and long-term labor market needs of high-growth, high-demand industries in Rhode Island.” J. Michael Koback, executive director of the Governor’s Workforce Board Rhode Island, explains, “Workforce systems have traditionally focused on the supply side of the economic growth equation. Our industry partnership model, however, is designed to shift the focus to the other side of the equation—the demand side.” He adds that by enabling each industry to customize solutions for its specific skill gaps, Rhode Island is creating an actionable plan that has real buy-in from the private sector. Nick Ucci, acting administrator of the Workforce Partnership of Greater Rhode Island, views the initiative as a way for Rhode Island to gain a competitive advantage over its neighbors. “We recognize that industry has a vital role in helping us build a system that supports both youth and adults, resulting in a pipeline of well-trained, skilled workers that attracts business to the Ocean State and retains and grows existing industry,” he says. One component of the Industry Skills Development Initiative is $750,000 in training for incumbent workers and new hires in the targeted industries. Initially, 400 workers are expected to access training through their employers; the training may include currently available programs or new, customized training programs co-created by industry. As new programs are developed to address specific skills sets, the RI Department of Labor and Training anticipates that many will be approved for federal Workforce Investment Act funds. This would allow hundreds of additional Rhode Island jobseekers up to $5,500 in free short-term training in industry-sanctioned programs. Another component of the initiative is $850,000 for the industry partners’ development of career awareness, recruitment and youth outreach/education tactics. This funding allows the industry partners to have an embedded presence in the netWORKri one-stop career centers, thereby allowing job seekers face-to-face networking opportunities and informational interviewing with recruiters from the marine trades, information technology, construction and hospitality industries. Director of Labor and Training Sandra M. Powell states, “By making direct contact with netWORKri clients, the industry representatives can help job seekers make enlightened career decisions and steer them toward industries with available, Rhode Island-based jobs and future advancement opportunities.” The $850,000 also allows for a range of youth engagement activities—such as work readiness, career exploration, mentoring and internship opportunities—that are available through local businesses directly or through the 13 YouthWorks411 career centers now operating in Rhode Island. The Governor’s Workforce Board began to lay the groundwork for the industry-driven strategies by first investing $1 million in upgraded computer technology for the netWORKri One-Stop Career Centers. This investment provides better public access to career information and job resources in the one-stops. An additional $400,000 of the initiative’s total $3.3 million award has been designated for industry-specific applications in the next year. The Governor’s Workforce Board hopes to have additional funding available in the next fiscal year to finance two additional industry partners.