Real Jobs RI support helps produce bankers with improved skills

EAST PROVIDENCE – Acknowledging that economic development goes beyond creation of jobs to nurturing new skills in existing employees, banking and government leaders on Wednesday celebrated employees who recently completed industry-requested courses created through a state grant.
The Real Jobs Rhode Island program, a workforce development and training partnership created under Gov. Gina M. Raimondo, provides assistance through specific grants to employers or industry associations that are trying to build the skills of existing workers.
Funded initially with federal and state funds, including $1.3 million from the Governor’s Workforce Board, it is directed to partnerships among employers.
At the sprawling Bank of America Corp. center in East Providence, 47 graduates of courses taught by University of Rhode Island instructors gathered to receive their certificates. The classes – Fundamentals of Banking and Fundamentals of Commercial Lending – allowed employees of the 15 member banks of the Rhode Island Bankers Association to learn new principles and skills, and gain confidence in their knowledge of commercial finance.
The program is a way for employers to grow the talent from within, according to William F. Hatfield, Rhode Island market president for Bank of America.
The students participating in the courses included employees of Santander Bank, Bank of America, Washington Trust Bancorp, and Bank Rhode Island, among others.
“It’s about preparation,” Hatfield said. “We need to develop the skills of the people who work with us.”
The RIBA received $133,000 in grant money to initiate the two training programs, he said, which were entitled the Rhode Island Financial Skills Initiative. The program received the Real Jobs RI funding as part of a first wave of awards in November 2015. It will be self-financed by the association in coming years, according to its spokeswoman.
Jeff Elliott, an employee of Bank Rhode Island, said he was immediately able to put to use the skills he learned in the Fundamentals of Banking course. “A lot of the course content was immediately applicable to my daily role as a member of the retail management team.”
Santander Bank employee Ida Jobe said her fellow classmates in the Fundamentals of Commercial Lending course started in mid-February a bit nervous and unsure of what to expect. The class finished on May 18, and it left her with a sense of motivation and confidence, she said. “The energy is different,” she said. “We feel different. We look different. We talk different.”
Raimondo, who addressed the graduates, and shook their hands as they received the certificates, said the state-industry program recognizes that the level and type of skills in demand within industries change from year to year. “What you need for skills today is different than what you will need going forward,” she said.
The collaboration among financial institutions in developing the program was also important, she said, because combined resources will help strengthen the state’s workforce.
“If we all come together and form a deeper talent pool … we’re all going to be stronger.”

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