PROVIDENCE – A city program will receive $3.72 million in federal stimulus funds to train 1,600 Rhode Islanders for careers in energy-efficient construction and the renewable-power industry over two years, the state’s congressional delegation announced Wednesday.
The money will go to the nonprofit Providence Plan’s three-year-old Building Futures program, which helps unemployed people develop basic skills for the construction trades and then assists graduates in developing careers as registered apprentices.
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In November, U.S. Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Reps. Patrick J. Kennedy and James R. Langevin, all Democrats, wrote a letter to U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis in support of the Providence Plan’s grant application.
Secretary Solis joined Reed, Kennedy and Langevin for a tour of the Exeter Job Corps Academy last fall to learn about Rhode Island’s job training programs and the role they play in strengthening the state’s work force.
“Rebuilding Rhode Island’s manufacturing industry is critical to creating jobs and reversing our state’s economic decline,” Reed said in a statement. “This is another example of Recovery Act funds helping our state overcome the last decade’s legacy of job loss by investing in our local economy, strengthening our work force, and further advancing our green-technology industries. Not only will this grant enable the Providence Plan to train 1,600 Rhode Islanders for a career in the construction industry, but it will also facilitate the adoption of more environmentally friendly practices throughout the state.”
Building Future’s Energy Training Partnership will use the money to create a pre-apprenticeship model that readies 100 unemployed young, urban residents for green construction careers; work with labor organizations to integrate certified green-training modules into existing apprenticeship curriculum to ensure 650 registered apprentices receive green training; and strengthen the technical skills of 850 dislocated workers.
Additional information is available at bfri.org.
