By William Hamilton
PBN Staff Writer
Since Sandra M. Powell took over as director of the R.I. Department of Labor and Training in January, there has been little in the way of good news when it comes to the state’s work force. Rhode Island’s employment rate stands at 6.1 percent, a 12-year high and a full percentage point above the national average. In addition, Gov. Donald L. Carcieri is looking to prune 1,000 jobs from the state’s payrolls and has proposed slashing next year’s state budget to shrink a gaping structural deficit.
But Powell looks at the escalating need for DLT’s services at a time of dwindling resources as an opportunity to rework the system.
PBN: Let’s talk about the state’s fiscal problems. Every department and agency has been affected by it or will be in the future. I assume the DLT is no different?
POWELL: There is some affect. We’re working towards addressing the challenges that the state budget proposes. DLT is a little different from other agencies: Only about 3 percent [of DLT’s budget comes from] general revenue. The rest is either federal or from other restricted- receipt accounts. [Powell later said that the DLT was initially supposed to receive $6.58 million from the state in fiscal 2008. That number was cut in the supplemental budget to $6.37 million. Next year’s budget proposal is for $6.29 million.] …
Still, we continue to look at the work that we do. Are there ways we need to restructure? We’ve been working on that for quite some time.
We’ve experienced some downsizing. And even though a good portion of the budget is federal, we’ve experienced decreased funding from the federal level. I’ll use the example of our One-Stop Career Center system. Ten years ago, we had 100 staff members; now we have about 41. …
We’re going to be facing the potential of losing people because of legislation that just passed recently. We’re probably going to have a great number of retirements. That’s going to cause us to look at the work we do structurally. We’re probably going to have a lot of the institutional knowledge that will walk out the door, potentially. So we’re going to work hard over the next several months to ensure we are well prepared for the potentialities that might happen.
PBN: But don’t you need all the help you can get right now, with unemployment numbers at a 12-year high?
POWELL: We’ve been really trying to take a look at technology as an avenue to deliver services more effectively. The thing that [budget cuts do] is make us take a look at our work in light of 21st-century changes. We have a delivery model that we’ve used for quite some time … but we need to be flexible as we deliver services. So we’ve been investing, for instance, in our One-Stop Career Center, using technology to help people access information about jobs, to identify their skill sets to help them meet the needs of the employers more effectively. In our income-support division – unemployment insurance and [temporary disability insurance] – we’ve developed Internet applications where people could apply online, and also electronic benefit cards so people could receive their payments without needing a paper check.
PBN: What sectors can out-of-work people look to for a job right now?
POWELL: Well we know in the Rhode Island economy, there are a couple of areas that continue to grow. … We have industry partnerships in health care; we have them in bio-tech, information technology, marine trades, advanced manufacturing and construction. And hospitality and tourism. So we continue to work in those areas.
PBN: Hasn’t the construction industry taken a hit, losing about 1,800 jobs since March 2007?
POWELL: Yes, there is a slowdown there, obviously related to the housing crisis. But construction is something where there is a work force that is older and where we know there’s a cyclical nature to that area. But there is a need to continue to move folks into the trades, particularly the skilled trades.
PBN: When you look at the gloomy economic picture, do you wish you took over the helm at DLT at a more optimistic time?
POWELL: I hope I’ve become director at the right time. This is the work I’ve been in for almost 20 years. My hope is that I can bring that knowledge base of state systems and how they work so we can even more effectively serve people in these very difficult times. You know the difficulties we’re facing economically point out just how important work force development is. One of the critical things is that in order to grow the economy, you have to have a skilled work force. What we see a lot, however, is a skill mismatch. You need people who have the skills that meet the needs of the growing and changing work place. At that nexus is work force development. Our job is to make people aware of what the new skills are and help provide or direct them to avenues by which they can get those skills.
We do that ourselves, but we also want to work with our community partners. One of the programs out there is something called the Work Force Investment Act, and it can provide unemployed or underemployed workers with up to $4,000 in free short-term training. We’re working to get that word out to people because that’s incredibly valuable.
We also have a Rapid Response Unit, where we go out and work with companies when there are [layoffs]. And we have something called the Employers Services Unit, and they work with employers to help them meet their human-resource needs. Those two entities have teamed up internally so that, in this time when companies are laying off workers, we going out and providing services onsite. •
interview: Sandra M. Powell
POSITION: Director of the R.I. Department of Labor and Training
BACKGROUND: Powell started wit h the DLT in 1989 as an employment counselor. She moved her way up through the agency, serving as assistant to the administrator for the Job Training Partnership Act and as the coordinator of the adult and dislocated workers unit. Before she was named interim director in January and confirmed last month, Powell was the assistant director for work force development services.
EDUCATION: B.A. in public and international affairs, 1983, Princeton University
RESIDENCE: Warwick
AGE: 46
To learn more about the services, programs and grant opportunities available through the R.I. Department of Labor and Training through its Employer Service Unit, or to meet with an employer service representative, call 1-888-616-JOBS (toll-free) or visit www.dlt.ri.gov.
