New England Tech receives $2.5M federal grant to boost programs

INTERN BILL Johnson, left, IS learning the methods and tools of the trade from Gerard Hester, right, a certified operator of Swiss Turning Machines. Johnson is a student at New England Technical Institute who is interning at Swissline Precision Manufacturing Inc. in Cumberland. NEIT received a $2.5 million grant to boost job programs. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
INTERN BILL Johnson, left, IS learning the methods and tools of the trade from Gerard Hester, right, a certified operator of Swiss Turning Machines. Johnson is a student at New England Technical Institute who is interning at Swissline Precision Manufacturing Inc. in Cumberland. NEIT received a $2.5 million grant to boost job programs. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

WARWICK – New England Institute of Technology has received a $2.5 million federal grant to support training programs on shipbuilding, marine trades, advanced manufacturing and manufacturing industries.
The funds, from the U.S. Department of Labor’s trade adjustment assistance community college and career training grant program, will allow New England Tech to add five additional industry-recognized credential programs to its existing two core programs.
“This is a win for NEIT’s new Shipbuilding/Marine, Advanced Manufacturing Institute, a win for local workers looking to advance their careers and a win for Rhode Island businesses looking to hire skilled workers. These are the kinds of partnerships – ones that create direct connections between colleges, employers and potential employees – that we need to replicate to put Rhode Islanders back to work and get our economy growing faster,” U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, a member of the Appropriations Committee, said in a statement.
“This federal funding for Rhode Island helps us address immediate workforce needs and re-engineer our approach to job training,” he added.
Last year, New England Tech was awarded $2.5 million in federal funding to establish the Shipbuilding/Marine and Advanced Manufacturing Institute to help train unemployed Rhode Islanders. This program – at New England Tech’s Post Road campus in Warwick – recruits, screens and trains individuals for high-demand careers at no cost to participants.
It also provides work-readiness, career exploration and academic and career advising. The primary fields are welding and machining.
Employer partners include: General Dynamics Electric Boat, Senesco Marine LLC, Blount Boats Inc., Guill Tool and Engineering Co., Rhode Island Carbide Tool Co., Swissline Precision Manufacturing Inc., Porter Machine Inc., Pilgrim Screw Corp., and Maro Display. To date, approximately 90 percent of the people who have completed this program are employed.
Reed also worked to pass the law to expand resources for the trade adjustment community college career training program to support community colleges in developing demand-driven job training programs. Both Community College of Rhode Island and New England Tech have received grants from this program.
The $2.5 million federal grant will help provide entry-level and advanced skills sought by private sector partners to hundreds of Rhode Island program participants. The funds will help develop new curricula and training models, purchase new equipment to ensure students are trained on what employers actually use, solicit feedback from local employers and design programs based on their needs, among other initiatives.

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