Jane Nugent insists that the work force development program she oversees for the United Way of Rhode Island is different from most.
Although many programs focus solely on the people who need training, the United Way program, called Skill Up Rhode Island, takes a “dual customer approach,” explained Nugent, senior vice president for community services at the United Way.
The “customers” of Skill Up are not only the people in need of training, but also the employers who need the trained workers.
“We are paying explicit and very deep attention of the need of the employers,” Nugent explained last week. “We have the employers at the table right from the get-go.”
That approach is, in part, why Skill Up was one of 10 programs nationwide to be awarded a large grant from the newly formed National Fund for Workforce Solutions.
Skill Up is slated to receive $450,000 over three years from the fund, which was established to help create opportunities for low-wage workers and meet employers’ needs for skilled employees.
Skill Up has already developed partnerships in four specific sectors that have been identified for their job growth potential: construction, marine trades, retail and health care.
And the program not only gets input from employers in how the workers will be trained, it also pools the resources of government agencies and social service groups.
The four programs partnered with Skill Up Rhode Island are the Marine Trade Collaborative of Aquidneck Island, Building Futures in Providence, Stepping Up – a health care collaborative in Providence – and the Woonsocket Employment Network, which is training people to work in a CVS/pharmacy distribution center.
Each partnership received $125,000 to get its program started, and another $125,000 has been pledged for next year. Nugent said the partnerships are also attracting additional funding from other sources.
For instance, she said, the Marine Trade Collaborative – a partnership of the International Yacht Restoration School and two local boatyards – also received a $25,000 from the Prince Foundation and $100,000 from the Governor’s Workforce Board.
The partnership also includes assistance from the Community College of Rhode Island and netWORKri’s offices in Newport.
Susan Daly, marketing director at the International Yacht Restoration School, said the program takes a two-pronged approach, starting with a nine-day course in marine trades for entry-level workers, something that local boat builders said was needed for their beginning employees.
“We’re giving them a baseline understanding of the field,” Daly said last week. “We’re creating an awareness of what the opportunities are for them.”
Daly said about 14 people have gone through the entry-level program so far.
More in-depth classes are offered for workers already in the field, focusing on topics such as diesel engines, steering and electrical systems.
Nugent said that based on the needs of boat builders in the partnership – New England Boatworks and Hinckley Boats – a two-year marine trades program has been reduced to smaller “modules’’ on nights and weekends so workers can receive training and remain in the work force.
Skill Up also developed a partnership with Building Futures, an effort to line up the unemployed in Providence’s low-income neighborhoods with trade union apprenticeships.
Andrew Cortes, Building Futures director, said the program evaluates prospective workers and crafts a plan to overcome any barriers to employment, such as obtaining a GED. “Each person’s plan is going to vary quite a bit,” he said.
Also, there’s a hands-on evaluation in which Building Futures sends people to work sites for a week to determine their skill level. It’s all done with extensive cooperation with local general contractors and trade unions.
The program also teaches workers about health and safety laws, financial literacy and their rights on the job.
“Basically, we’re trying not to set people up to fail,” he said. •
