Delegation & Gov. Raimondo Announce $6M Grant to Accelerate Job Training

Delegation & Gov. Raimondo Announce $6M Grant to Accelerate Job Training
Federal funds will help train up to 1,000 Rhode Islanders over the next four years
in Real Jobs RI partnerships that focus on
advance manufacturing skills and contribute to the defense sector

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and U.S.
Representatives Jim Langevin and David Cicilline, together with Governor Gina M.
Raimondo, today announced a new $6 million federal grant to help train hundreds of
local workers in advanced manufacturing and IT-related skills to fill open positions
with employers. The Rhode Island Governor’s Workforce Board (RIGWB) will receive
the federal funding through the America’s Promise Job Driven Grant Program. This
funding will accelerate workforce training for the defense industry in Rhode Island,
largely through a strong partnership with Electric Boat, its suppliers, and related
companies.

The funds will help train up to 1,000 Rhode Islanders over the next four years in
four Real Jobs RI partnerships that focus on advance manufacturing skills and
contribute to the defense sector.

«This is good news for the state and we commend Governor Raimondo and her team for
putting together a successful application,» said the members of the Congressional
delegation in a joint statement. «This program will help boost the number of
skilled workers here in Rhode Island who are ready for high-demand jobs in a number
of industries.»

«Not long ago, Rhode Island was a state known for making things. Because of Senator
Reed and the Congressional Delegation’s leadership, Rhode Islanders are poised to
rebuild Rhode Island and make things once again,» said Governor Raimondo. «Rhode
Islanders have always been willing and eager to make an investments in themselves.
This America’s Promise grant will expand the Real Jobs RI program and prepare
hundreds of Rhode Islanders for the advanced manufacturing jobs we’re creating in
our state. Thanks to the partnership from our Congressional Delegation and DLT
Director Scott Jensen’s leadership, Rhode Island’s advanced industry economy is
growing more quickly than any state in New England.»

Through Real Jobs RI, a sector-based workforce development approach, large employers
in some of the state’s key industries and various stakeholders have come together to
identify common workforce challenges and enact proven strategies to provide Rhode
Islanders the prerequisite training to develop skills and secure jobs.

Two years ago, Electric Boat, a company with major production sites in Rhode Island
and Connecticut, was awarded the largest shipbuilding contract in the history of the
United States Navy to continue building the Virginia-class attack submarines.
Earlier this year, Electric Boat was selected as the prime contractor to design and
deliver the Ohio-replacement submarines, which serve as a key component to our
nation’s nuclear deterrent triad. Electric Boat plans to nearly double its
workforce in the coming years to fulfill its commitments with the Navy.

This federal funding will allow the RIGWB to collaborate with Electric Boat, the
Eastern Connecticut Workforce Investment Board, and other workforce development
partners on the Real Jobs RI Pipeline to Manufacturing Careers in Ship Building
Program. The RIGWB will also collaborate with the Real Jobs Rhode Island
Cybersecurity Partnership, the Rhode Island Manufacturing Boot Camp, and the Marine
and Composites Partnership, to help member employers fill open positions in the
defense sector. The program will focus on providing the education and training
needed to place between 700 and 1,000 people in mid-to-highly skilled careers in the
advanced manufacturing and IT-related industries, which currently utilize the H-1B
temporary visa program to meet workforce needs.

Through Real Jobs RI, both unemployed and underemployed Rhode Islanders will be
placed in jobs that are critical to our national defense and important for economic
prosperity. Employers will continue to play a proactive role in the state’s
workforce development system as well as help strengthen the State’s talent pipeline
and put workers on career pathways.

About Real Jobs Rhode Island
Real Jobs RI is a flexible demand-driven workforce development program that supports
ideas from employers and partners of all sizes to connect people to the job openings
of today and in the near future. Planning and implementation grants help employers
analyze the workforce demands of industry and cross-industry sectors over a
sustained period of time and build partner relationships that will produce a stable
pipeline of trained workers to jobs.