Businesses investing in future hires

TECHNICAL SUPPORT: William M. Davies School robotics students, from left, Robert Feraria, Zachary Agruedo and Zachary Deschamps, are among the students benefiting from the Grainger donation. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELY
TECHNICAL SUPPORT: William M. Davies School robotics students, from left, Robert Feraria, Zachary Agruedo and Zachary Deschamps, are among the students benefiting from the Grainger donation. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELY

At Grainger Inc., a national industrial-supply distributor, the work is all about customer needs. Lately, that goes far beyond making sales and filling orders.
“The skill trades are our customers, and the customers I talk to tell me there are fewer and fewer young people coming in [for jobs] than there were in years past,” said Jim Crowley, branch manager for Grainger’s Warwick office. “These are good, high-paying jobs that can’t be outsourced. If you have students looking to build a career, the skill trades offer a nice opportunity.”
Crowley isn’t talking about anything new here. Professionals and educators say an upcoming wave of retirees will leave a workforce hole that younger workers often lacking needed skills just can’t fill.
But Crowley and Grainger are part of a movement that is providing what they hope is at least a partial solution – partnering with local high schools and colleges to promote and support technical and trade career training through financial donations and learning opportunities.
The Grainger Foundation, established by Grainger founder William W. Grainger in 1949, recently donated $10,000 to William M. Davies Jr. Career and Technical High School in Lincoln. The money will be used to purchase equipment for the school’s machine-technology program.
“Donations by our business partners really help us purchase equipment for training that we may not be able to acquire otherwise due to limited outside funding,” said Bernie Blumenthal, the school’s business/education partnership coordinator. “The industry changes, and we want to make sure that we match the changes so that our students are well-prepared to enter the workforce or go on to college knowing they have acquired state-of-the-art training.”
Grainger also makes donations, in the form of scholarship money, to New England Institute of Technology’s electrical, heating, refrigeration and air-conditioning programs. The technical-career school, with associate and bachelor’s degree programs, benefits from donations and support from a long list of other private-sector organizations large and small that give scholarship money or equipment, said Steven Kitchin, vice president for corporate education and training, including Taco Inc., a Cranston HVAC company, and 3M Co., which has an office in Westborough, Mass.
Grainger in early October announced recipients of its 2012 Tools for Tomorrow scholarship program, including two students in civil engineering and engineering-systems technology programs at the Community College of Rhode Island in Warwick.
The program was launched in 2006 to offer financial support, with $2,000 scholarships and an actual tool kit upon study completion, to students pursuing degrees in industrial-skilled trades.
“It’s everything they would need to set up shop,” said Kristen Lawrence, external-affairs manager for U.S. business at Grainger. “We’re trying to reach students when they’re [making decisions]. One focus for Grainger is to provide the knowledge around these programs and what the jobs are.”
When Alex and Ani LLC, the Cranston-based jewelry company, made a $1 million donation commitment to Rhode Island College for the school’s $17 million art-center renovation, the motivation, said CEO Giovanni Feroce, was to continue its higher education corporate strategy by supporting the company’s own industry.
Rhode Island College is naming the building Alex and Ani Hall in recognition of the donation.
“We are looking at this as an investment, not necessarily a gift. It’s important for us to utilize the university’s capabilities,” Feroce said.
RIC reports that 85 percent of undergraduate and 92 percent of graduate students make their careers in Rhode Island.
“When a local company or business contributes to RIC, they are really making an investment in their future workforce,” said RIC President Nancy Carriuolo. Companies and schools are partnering beyond financial support, too, to offer students and potential employees hands-on experience that could further pique their interest and serve as training.
“Donations are wonderful [as are] partnerships between business and schools that enable students to get a better understanding of the world of work,” said Rick Brooks, executive director of the Governor’s Workforce Board.
William M. Davies School, for grades nine through 12, offers technical education, in addition to academics, in several concentrations, including automotive, biomanufacturing, building and construction, machinery and electronics.
The school has a host of established business partnerships that provide students clinical-training opportunities, job shadows and internships.
“They are vital to our success,” said Blumenthal.
Gilbane Building Co., a family firm with its corporate office in Providence, runs an ACE mentor program that works with high school and higher education students to promote math, science and engineering careers within the architecture, engineering and construction industry.
That 15- to 18-week program targets schools across Rhode Island. More than 600 Rhode Island students have gone through the program.
The company also runs the LAB [Learn, Apply, Build] program, which provides some financial support to students who take courses at CCRI and Roger Williams University in Bristol that ends in a bachelor’s degree in construction science.
The schools match the financial aid, which comes out to about $5,000 annually per student, and Gilbane provides those students a summer internship and a job upon graduation.
“The workforce is changing on the building-trade side and our side, and we have to keep up with it,” said John Sinnott, Gilbane Providence district manager. “We want people who want to be successful. This is being a leader in the community in which you live and work.” •

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