Real Jobs RI planning grant recipients announced

GOV. GINA M. RAIMONDO has announced the recipients of the Real Jobs Rhode Island planning grants - 21 grants were awarded. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
GOV. GINA M. RAIMONDO has announced the recipients of the Real Jobs Rhode Island planning grants - 21 grants were awarded. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

WARWICK – Twenty-one recipients of Real Jobs Rhode Island planning grants have been announced, ranging from schools to companies.
Gov. Gina M. Raimondo, in a news release, said the grants, made available through the state Department of Labor and Training, totaled $479,000. The planning grants provide seed funding of up to $25,000. Eleven industries are represented.

“Our mission is to put people to work and by making our job-training efforts employer-centered, everyone wins,” Raimondo said in a statement. “It’s a win for employees who will have a job once their training is complete. It’s a win for employers who will have a pipeline of trained workers. And it’s a win for Rhode Island as we look to attract and grow more companies here.”

The grants will provide funding to support the creation of “strategic industry partnerships,” which will identify training, education and human resource solutions needed to address business needs as well as plans to implement the solutions. Grants to implement the strategic industry workforce training plans will be awarded in November.

“One of the chief concerns of Rhode Island businesses is finding talent to fill their vacancies and fuel their success,” Commerce Secretary Stefan Pryor said. “The Real Jobs program has invited employers to band together within their sectors in order to inform us of their specific workforce needs and, in so doing, enable us to partner with them effectively. … Now these awardees have the opportunity to produce plans that identify their real needs and that position us to craft real solutions together.”

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Said DLT Director Scott Jensen, “How can it be that Rhode Island has a stubbornly high unemployment rate, yet there are employers every day saying they have jobs open that they can’t fill? The problem is that not enough Rhode Islanders have the skills they need to succeed in 21st century jobs. We need to rethink the way we match workers who need jobs with employers who have open positions but who don’t have applicants with the skills or training to fill them.”

The grant recipients are as follows:
Biotechnology

  • Claflin Medical Equipment, biomedical equipment and IT technician project, $25,000
  • MedMates, Med-tech job creation engine, $25,000

Construction

  • Rhode Island Builders Association, R.I. residential construction workforce partnership, $25,000
  • West Elmwood Housing Development Corp., construction trades skill-up partnership, $18,734

Defense

  • Southeastern New England Defense Industry Alliance, cyber security partnership, $25,000
  • General Dynamics Electric Boat, pipeline to shipbuilding manufacturing careers, $25,000

Design

  • DESIGNxRI, design sector planning partnership, $25,000

Finance

  • Rhode Island Bankers Association, Rhode Island financial skills initiative at the University of Rhode Island, $25,000

Green/Agriculture/Aquaculture

  • The Education Exchange Inc., aquaculture training partnership, $19,681

Health care

  • St. Antoine Residence, health care training collaborative, $20,000
  • Rhode Island College, healthy jobs for Rhode Island, $15,000
  • Stepping UP, CNA apprenticeship program, $15,000

Hospitality

  • Rhode Island Hospitality Association, Rhode Island food management partnership, $25,000

Information Technology

  • Tech Collective, Real Jobs RI – information technology partnership, $25,000

Manufacturing

  • Polaris Manufacturing Extension Partnership, Rhode Island manufacturer boot camp, $25,000
  • Hyman Brickle & Son Inc., Phoenix partnership for education and training programs, $25,000
  • Toray Plastics (America) Inc., manufacturing leadership development partnership, $25,000

Marine Trades

  • Rhode Island Marine Trades Association, marine and composites partnership, $24,951

Other/Regional

  • Westerly Public Schools, Westerly regional jobs partnership, $16,355
  • Connecting for Children & Families – Woonsocket, Real Jobs partnership of northern Rhode Island, $25,000
  • Opportunities Industrialization Center of Rhode Island, program focusing on manufacturing and marine sectors, $24,914.

The $1.3 million in first-year funds for Real Jobs RI comes from the Governor’s Workforce Board. The Real Jobs RI program also has received a $5.2 million federal grant and intends to leverage other federal resources to support this industry-sector based workforce initiative, according to the governor’s office.

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