With Rhode Island finally closing in on job levels in 2017 last seen before the Great Recession, PBN wanted to pick the brains of those “Job Creators” responsible for the state’s employment growth.
We asked if Rhode Island was a good state to grow jobs – the answers were across the board, from good to terrible.
We asked which sectors were poised to make breakout gains in jobs – again, the answers were varied, with most interview subjects partial to their own industry.
But two relatively common ideas stuck out from the 13 interviews in this issue.
First was the need for the state to continue to invest in its educational infrastructure, both for the sake of turning out graduates who are prepared for the 21st-century workplace but also as an attraction to bring their parents to take jobs here with the expectation that their children will receive a quality public education.
And second was the importance that a number of these job creators placed on the role that individual character plays in the workplace.
The person doing a lot of hiring for Lifespan Corp., Lisa Abbott, had this to say:
“We can train you to do, we can’t train you how to be.”
Prioritizing education and character would be a good thing to do in 2018.
