Summit addresses need for skilled workforce

TALKING SHOP: Ely Beckman, left, principal founder of Reckoner Group, with Ethan Tucker, owner of Mobile Life Inc. Beckman and Tucker have been working together, meeting at Angelina’s Coffee Shop in Bristol. / PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS
TALKING SHOP: Ely Beckman, left, principal founder of Reckoner Group, with Ethan Tucker, owner of Mobile Life Inc. Beckman and Tucker have been working together, meeting at Angelina’s Coffee Shop in Bristol. / PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

With less than two months until the General Assembly begins its 2014 session on Jan. 7, many members of the state’s business community are eager to douse legislators with recommendations in hopes of cranking up the often-sluggish pace of change required to make the state more business-friendly.
One of the most-stubborn issues at the root of Rhode Island’s difficulty in attracting new business is developing a citizenry educated, trained and eager to fill positions in the rapidly changing global economy.
“Our biggest challenge at the moment is finding qualified employees,” said John N. Tomaz, vice president of Wardwell Braiding, a 102-year-old Central Falls company that’s evolved from manufacturing textiles to producing braided wire and cable for applications ranging from shielding cables for computer keyboards to communications cables for telephone lines.
“After a long period of advertising and recruiting, we couldn’t find anyone experienced to fill two positions – one for a designer of machine parts and one for a machine operator,” said Tomaz. “So we’ve taken two people from the company without experience in those jobs and we’re training them.”
Tomaz admits the training can take quite a bit of time, but it’s in line with the company’s priority on hiring in-state candidates.
The issue of how to develop a skilled workforce was one of the topics examined by more than 30 state legislators and 190 business leaders from a wide range of economic sectors – from banking to technology – at the 2013 Economic Summit at the Radisson Hotel in Warwick on Nov. 15, sponsored by the Rhode Island office of the Small Business Administration and the Rhode Island Small Business Development Center. “There are almost 48,000 people unemployed here and there are jobs open all over the state,” Rhode Island Foundation President and CEO Neil D. Steinberg said. “The real message here is urgency, action and involvement.”
Those three guiding principles – urgency, action and involvement – resonated with Ethan M. Tucker, owner of Mobile Life, a 1½-year-old Bristol-based company that creates city, town and state mobile apps for smartphones to provide municipal information, some restaurant and entertainment details and most of all, a solidified sense of place.
Tucker urged participants in the economic-development breakout session of the summit to create a sense of mission and a motto that will boost the state into its rightful place of leadership.
“There are so many brilliant people and great ideas here,” said Tucker, a Bristol native who has traveled the world while working in real estate and for an Australian wine company. “We have to get out of the rut and shake the tree.”
Tucker said he’d like to see the 2014 legislature consider more competitive tax rates, as well as more funding for research and development.
But Rhode Island’s sluggishness goes beyond taxes and capital, in Tucker’s perspective.
“We’re always outflanked by our neighboring two states of Massachusetts and Connecticut,” said Tucker.
Cohesion is what Tucker suspects could help move Rhode Island forward.
Some ripples are already stirring up changes that might eventually become waves.
Legislators at the economic summit got lots of pats on the back for legislation enacted in 2013 that many at summit said has begun to “move the needle” on the state’s lackluster business climate.
Thirty-three bills addressing economic development were enacted into law during the 2013 session. Those new laws include an overhaul of the R.I. Economic Development Corporation to increase transparency and increase accountability. The EDC will be replaced by the Rhode Island Commerce Corp. on Jan. 1, 2014, and then in 2015, the agency will be under the new Executive Office of Commerce headed by a new secretary of commerce.
Legislation also enacted in 2013 requires the governor, along with a large group of stakeholders, to develop a long-term economic plan for the state beginning Jan. 1, 2015.
The 2013 legislature also approved creation of a Business Development Center charged with “promptly” responding to inquiries from prospective, new or existing businesses.
Legislators at the summit said they welcome input from the business community.
“We all want the same things – a balanced budget, a vibrant economy, full employment and an adequate safety net,” said House Majority Leader Nicholas Mattiello , D-Cranston, who was on a panel of state legislative leaders at the summit. “If everyone has a good job, we don’t need the safety net as much.
“The business community could have a stronger voice,” said Mattiello. “I hear from some of you, but your voice is not heard as much as I’d like it to be.”
One of the breakout groups on economic development came up with a recommendation to simplify and make more accessible the many resources that already exist in the state for business.
“For someone who doesn’t know much about business, they don’t know where to start,” said East Providence Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Laura McNamara, who summarized her breakout group’s suggestions: “The secretary of state’s website is not user-friendly. It needs to be streamlined.” •

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1 COMMENT

  1. Unfortunately, what lacks for the skilled and educated workforce in Rhode Island is a comparable and competitive JOB-MARKET. Unless you are a skilled laborer, nurse or educator, you are limited to service industry employment which often comes with low hourly wages and zero benefits.