Scott Jensen | Director, R.I. Department of Labor and Training
1. What’s the biggest success you’ve had since taking the reins at the DLT in 2015? Launching Gov. [Gina M.] Raimondo’s Real Jobs Rhode Island program. … Real Jobs RI is a state and federally funded, competitive workforce and economic-development grant program that … has [worked with] over 800 local employers; connected 3,000 Rhode Islanders to employment; and [trained] more than 2,490 incumbent workers and entrepreneurs.
2. Under your watch, how much has the DLT budget increased? We have seen our budget shrink in most areas, [such as] Unemployment Insurance and Federal Workforce Development. In these areas ... the federal budgetary commitment shrinks as the economy grows. Rhode Island’s economy is healthier than it has been in years, but there is more to be done.
3. What’s the one thing you’d like the DLT to do more of? We need to spend significant time and attention in building the capacity of the DLT administrative infrastructure – finance, budgeting and grant making – to support our state’s best-in-the-nation workforce programs. Innovations in this regard ensure that our staff time is dedicated to benefiting Rhode Island’s workers and employers. Along those lines, we need to continue to expand our investment in workforce-development activities that align with emerging and cutting-edge sectors ... [such as] wind, tech and health care.
4. How would you compare what the DLT is doing with Maryland’s department when you were there? DLT is far, far nimbler, so when a great team comes together, remarkable things happen. Yes, this has been the case for Real Jobs RI, but the teams at Unemployment Insurance and Workplace Regulation and Safety … are operating at a similarly high level.
5. Has federal policy under President Donald Trump’s administration been good or bad for people searching for work? Unhelpful is the best way to put it. The federal colleagues we work with seem very tentative and risk averse. Since we all acknowledge that how we operate government must evolve if we are going to help people find jobs and help companies find great employees, being tentative and risk averse is the riskiest path one can pick. Embracing new models of governing; models that are data-driven and leverage input from the business sector, academia and the community … is critical to powering a thriving, resilient economy.