The Community College of Rhode Island, in collaboration with the Westerly Education Center, Real Jobs Rhode Island and the R.I. Department of Labor and Training, is now accepting applications for a 10-week, 300-hour training in process technology.
The training combines classroom and hands-on instruction and will familiarize individuals in chemical processing and government regulations; safety and workplace responsibilities; physical properties and determinations; chemical calculations; handling chemicals; pressure and vacuum; sampling; fluid mechanics and plumbing; computer control and monitoring systems; standard operating procedures; basic electricity; process operations; and soft skills.
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No experience is necessary, but a GED or high school diploma is required. After the training, participants will receive a certificate and job placement assistance. Those interested should contact CCRI’s Division of Workforce Partnerships at WorkforcePartnerships@ccri.edu.
Cody J. Fino, director of industry partnerships at CCRI, spoke with Providence Business News about the process technology training program.
PBN: How does this program align with the state’s economic-development strategy and what is the demand for this type of employment in Rhode Island?
FINO: Gov. Gina [M.] Raimondo has identified advanced manufacturing as an economic growth area for the state and has made strategic investments in programs, [such as] the process technician program, to create a well-trained workforce for Rhode Island’s employers.
CCRI plays an important role in the state’s economic-development strategy. Through its Division of Workforce Partnerships, the college has partnered with several Rhode Island-based manufacturing companies, including Eaton Corp., Groov-Pin, Guill Tool & Engineering Co., and Goodwin-Bradley Pattern Co., to design and implement certificate programs to meet specific workforce needs.
Funded by a Real Jobs RI grant through the R.I. Department of Labor and Training, the Process Tech program is offered at CCRI’s satellite campus, the Westerly Education Center, at no cost to the participant or to employers.
Process technicians are utilized by a number of advanced-manufacturing sectors, including pharmaceutical, environmental, medical research and craft-brewing sectors – all growth areas for the state. While the role of a process technologist varies across these sectors, they are primarily responsible for overseeing manufacturing operations while ensuring all processes run smoothly in addition to implementing solutions to improve overall production. No matter the industry, process technicians have common competencies that, along with on-the-job training, can meet cross-cutting demand.
PBN: There is a perception that Rhode Island long ago lost its manufacturing economic base. From your perspective, is that the case or is manufacturing making a return to Rhode Island?
FINO: Manufacturing is alive and well in R.I. – just ask our many manufacturing partners. Manufacturing is a very impactful part of the workforce. It accounts for 8% of Rhode Island’s workforce.
What has changed is that manufacturing today is all about integration of technology and achieving efficiencies, with a leaner but more skilled workforce. Many Rhode Islanders do not realize that today’s jobs in manufacturing are clean, well-paid and offer a career path with starting wages upward of $20 per hour with significant growth potential. With a greying workforce, there are tremendous opportunities for individuals to enter the field.
PBN: With virtually full employment in Rhode Island, what is the interest in a program such as this and what can an individual who completes the program expect in terms of employment?
FINO: What we know to be true is that all those who enroll in one of our workforce-training programs are interested in a quality education that leads to careers with a family-sustaining wage. Any individual that participates in the process tech program can expect a high-skill, high-wage career that opens up dozens of doors with many of our Rhode Island-based employer partners. We have key relationships with these employers and offer job placement assistance and career-development services during and after the program through our partner, Skills for Rhode Island’s Future.
Graduates of the first two classes of the process tech program saw a 75% placement in high-wage positions within three months of completing the program.
PBN: In what other industries does CCRI’s Division of Workforce provide similar-type programming?
FINO: The great news is CCRI has just begun to scratch the surface on Rhode Island’s workforce needs. We are actively building out high-quality, demand-driven programming in virtually every industry within the state. CCRI’s Division of Workforce Partnerships officially launched in July 2018 and we have active pipeline programs in manufacturing (Fast Track to CNC Manufacturing) and health care (Pharmacy Technician II), with brand-new trainings to be launched in the IT/advanced business services space (Helpdesk/Tech Support and Data Analytics) in the coming months.
PBN: In many “future of work” discussions, there seems to be much talk about AI-driven automation replacing many jobs, such as those in the manufacturing industry. Are we directing people into training for jobs that may not exist in the future?
FINO: Our employer partners have assured us that while the look of manufacturing jobs may change over the years to come, manufacturing jobs themselves are going nowhere. AI-driven automation is already implemented within our manufacturing companies, and it is used to improve and assist our human talent. The process tech program, specifically, focuses on the most cutting-edge equipment within manufacturing. Many of our graduates will be supporting automated equipment and ensuring that it does what is necessary to get the company’s product out of the door.
Also, as AI-driven automation is more integrated into the workforce, it will require highly trained techs to work side by side with the equipment to ensure manufacturing continues to grow within Rhode Island. It is those skills, and those we do not even know about yet, that the Division of Workforce Partnerships will address in future pipeline and incumbent worker programming.
William Hamilton is PBN managing editor. You can follow him on Twitter @waham or email him at hamilton@pbn.com.
