Governor announces Real Jobs RI plan to jump-start economy

GOV. GINA M. Raimondo announced a new $1.3 million grant program, Real Jobs RI, to jumpstart the economy. / PBN FILE PHOTO/ MICHAEL SALERNO
GOV. GINA M. Raimondo announced a new $1.3 million grant program, Real Jobs RI, to jumpstart the economy. / PBN FILE PHOTO/ MICHAEL SALERNO

PROVIDENCE – A new $1.3 million grant program will focus on employers’ needs in cultivating a stronger workforce to jump-start the Rhode Island economy, the governor announced Monday.
Gov. Gina M. Raimondo said her plan, Real Jobs RI, will help people build skills needed in the workplace and connect them to employers who are hiring now.
The initiative will “help spark our recovery, while positioning industry partnerships as the critical hub around which government, education, workforce development providers, nonprofits and others revolve,” she said in a press release.
Scott Jensen, director of the Department of Labor and Training, said the initiative will enable the state and his department to “move at the speed of business to deliver to Rhode Island companies the workforce they need to grow.”
Raimondo made the announcement at Yushin America Inc., a global robotics manufacturer in Cranston that faces both the challenges as well as the potential created by the skills gap. As Yushin looks to expand its plant by 75 percent, it has 14 open positions and is having difficulty finding trained, skilled workers, she said.
About $1.3 million in first-year funds for Real Jobs RI has been requested from the Governor’s Workforce Board through its administration of the state Job Development Fund, an established account dedicated to workforce development, Raimondo said.
The way the program works is to award initial grants of up to $25,000 to help partnerships convene, determine the specific workforce needs of employers, gather the necessary partners to meet those needs, and produce a proposed plan to train individuals to meet those needs, the governor said. More than $1 million remaining will be available to fund those partnerships that are approved to move forward, she said.
Stefan Pryor, R.I. Secretary of Commerce, noted, “Our economic development package is called the ‘Ocean State WAVE.’ It begins with the ‘W’: workforce development. Growing Rhode Island’s economy starts with strengthening our workforce development system, meeting the training needs of our employers and positioning Rhode Islanders for the jobs of today and tomorrow.”

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