Nina Pande | Executive director, Skills for Rhode Island’s Future
1. Skills for Rhode Island’s Future is partnering with the state on its new workforce-training program, helping find prospective participants, including those who might be hard to reach or connect to services. How do you plan to do this? We serve as the connection between job seekers and employers. By understanding employer needs, we can be strong advocates for job seekers and equip them with the skills needed for in-demand roles. We take a personalized approach to understanding a person’s skill set and aspirations to help them pivot to a position where they can achieve economic mobility.
2. What are the biggest barriers to unemployed people finding work? The biggest barrier … is the growing digital-skills gap. COVID-19 has accelerated our path toward digital transformation. If we do not invest in proper workforce training, we’ll continue to see populations get boxed out of the workforce. We’re working on various programs … to address this critical need. Another barrier is the lack of proper equipment to work from home, and we’re currently developing a technology lending library to address this challenge.
3. How has your work helping both job seekers and employers changed as a result of COVID-19? We’ve seen a surge in demand from job seekers and employers hiring for critical roles related to COVID-19 relief. We launched two programs in collaboration with the R.I. Department of Labor and Training to implement temporary staffing across industries and dispatch services for congregate care settings. We hired temporary recruiters to fill more than 3,000 jobs, launched a 24-hour hotline to address employers’ immediate hiring needs and rolled out a new website for job seekers and employers.
4. Did the federal boost in unemployment benefits deter people from looking for jobs? The goal of the [federal aid] was to keep people at home during this time, and it was successful. But Rhode Islanders are resilient. During the shutdown, we worked with employer partners to help place over 1,000 people in jobs, a testament to Rhode Island’s hardworking culture and employers’ commitment to getting people back to work.
5. What long-term effects will the pandemic have on hiring and training? We’re going to start seeing a proliferation in remote-work opportunities, and a growing demand for digital literacy and equipment that will enable people to work effectively. We’re working to ensure we have the programs in place to address the barriers associated with this change.
Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Gavin@PBN.com.
