For PBN subscribers, this week’s issue offers the initial publication of “A guide to Stuff made and built in Rhode Island.”
The project was designed to highlight the many products made in the Ocean State, from General Dynamics Electric Boat submarines to Daniele Del Duca Prosciutto, and the cover image, the Tiffany & Co. Vince Lombardi Trophy.
But perhaps more importantly, the state stands at a moment when its full manufacturing potential is in danger of not being realized. The reason: While job openings are extensive, the pool of applicants is not. Companies are literally having to pass up on work because they don’t have the manpower to fulfill larger contracts.
The good news is that all the players in this most important competition recognize the problem. For instance, for years the state operated job-training programs only marginally connected to the needs of private-sector enterprises.
One of the Raimondo administration’s signature policy efforts has been the Real Jobs Rhode Island program, which reaches out to employers to help design programs that will provide a pipeline of potential workers who have the skills they need for the jobs they need filled. Since its 2015 inception, Real Jobs RI has provided $16 million in workforce-development education and support.
Stuff is a publication designed to help start a conversation about Rhode Island’s potential and achievements. It remains to be seen if future editions of the book will show that the conversation is advancing the state’s interests.