Trade groups connecting workers to jobs in industry

DANIEL TOUSSAINT, right, HVAC refrigiration apprentice at Capstone Mechanical, with his master trainer Tom Bennett. Capstone provides ventilation and cooling for major retailers such as Kohl’s and Starbucks, from Maine to Virginia. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
DANIEL TOUSSAINT, right, HVAC refrigiration apprentice at Capstone Mechanical, with his master trainer Tom Bennett. Capstone provides ventilation and cooling for major retailers such as Kohl’s and Starbucks, from Maine to Virginia. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Rhode Island Manufacturing Institute, a sister organization to the Rhode Island Manufacturers Association, has spent the past year matching 70 under- or unemployed people to manufacturing jobs.
The trade groups hired Deputy Director Chris Matteson in January 2014, said RIMA Executive Director Bill McCourt. In addition to building awareness and educating youth through career tech, Matteson’s focus is as intermediary in connecting small to midsized manufacturing employers with potential full- and part-time workers.
Polaris MEP, a statewide nonprofit that provides competitive manufacturing business-improvement programs, has contracted Matteson and RIMI to make these connections. Through Polaris, RIMI’s work is being supported by an Industry Partnership grant from the Governor’s Workforce Board, said McCourt and Christian Cowan, director of the Polaris MEP Center.
RIMA, which as a trade group historically focused on lobbying and regulations, has since expanded in scope to add economic development, industry promotion and workforce development. Matteson has been instrumental with the latter, more than doubling workforce-development efforts as well as enhancing awareness through the schools, McCourt said.
Matteson said he is working to create awareness in schools about what manufacturing is, as well as inform manufacturers about what grants and talent are available as resources.
“What we’re trying to do is broaden the scope and create some exposure [for] all of the occupations in manufacturing,” Matteson said. “Not just machining, but accounting, sales, research and development, graphic design.”
When matchmaking, Matteson screens applications and resumes he gets, often at job fairs, and looks to pair people’s skills to particular positions that manufacturers are looking for. If companies qualify they can get grant funding to help defray the cost of training, he said. Some new hires are trained under another state grant, the Innovation Partnership grant, McCourt said. “A lot of small businesses do not have [human resources] departments,” said McCourt. “[They are] 50-employee shops and don’t have a dedicated resource person. Sometimes the employers don’t quite know how to find what they’re looking for, so having someone like Chris that can serve as that intermediary is a huge resource for the employer.”
One of the employers who hired someone through RIMI is Capstone Mechanical, with headquarters in Portsmouth, N.H., and a satellite office in West Warwick. The firm provides heating, ventilation and cooling, as well as refrigeration services to major retailers like Kohl’s and Starbucks, from Maine to Virginia.
Jim McKenna, chief financial officer, says Capstone Mechanical hired Daniel Toussaint, 32, of Burrillville. Toussaint said he was out of work after moving with his wife to her hometown in Rhode Island. He had been working in Pennsylvania as a welder, doing preventative maintenance and repairs on quarry machinery.
“I sat down with my wife and said, ‘It might be time for a change,’ ” Toussaint recalled. “I just wasn’t finding [good] jobs.”
A veteran, he obtained certification in HVAC from MTTI, a technical school in Seekonk. And then, a friend told him about Matteson and RIMI. Toussaint contacted Matteson, who coached him on interviewing and resume skills, but also informed him about the opening at CapStone Mechanical.
Three interviews later, Toussaint found himself employed as an HVAC refrigeration apprentice in a program that requires about five years of training before sitting for a journeyman’s test.
Toussaint said studying with a master in the field and learning to install parts and diagnose problems in the short term is worth the long-term payoff. “He found me a job that was a stable job,” Toussaint said, referring to Matteson. “Even in the winter months, there’s no layoffs; there’s always work. I’m learning in leaps and bounds. And I have a great job that’s taken the foundation school has brought me and built off of it.”
McKenna said Capstone Mechanical’s lead technician, Tom Bennett, who is responsible for hiring in Rhode Island, made the connection with Matteson and Toussaint.
Matteson “made the process really easy,” McKenna said. “He had Dan’s resume, and did the search for us. And he helped supplement some of the training costs [through the grant program].”
Toussaint is the right fit for the company, added McKenna.
“We were looking for a junior technician but Dan has a lot of experience: he had a sense of maturity about him,” McKenna said. “He’s a seasoned professional: a good thought process, good organizational skills, so he brings a lot to the table.”
Another employer benefiting from the matchmaking is Swissline Precision Manufacturing Inc.
Swissline President David Chenevert, also chairman of RIMI and a board member of RIMA, has hired three new employees as a result of Matteson’s efforts, Chenevert said. These new computer numerical control workers understand blueprint reading, know how to use inspection equipment and are familiar with the more commonly used CNC codes, he said.
“[It’s] fantastic. They’re coming in with basic knowledge,” said Chenevert. “We’re getting individuals who have a solid base and learn to hit the ground running when they come to our shop.”
Chenevert hopes to hire a couple more people recommended through Matteson in early 2015.
“He’s our front person,” added Chenevert. “We discuss certain ideas [and] programs we want to see implemented. All of us own our own businesses and are CEOs and don’t have the time to be doing what Chris is doing, but he’s a focal point of our success.” •

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