WARWICK – The Community College of Rhode Island needs more money, increased capacity and a new focus on strategic industries in order to properly develop the work force for the future, a special panel concluded in a report Wednesday.
The CCRI 21st Century Workforce Commission, which for a year has been examining ways to retool the Ocean State’s only community college, called for an overhaul of work force development efforts at CCRI with the creation of a “career pathways system” that is driven by the needs of local industry.
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Built upon existing industry partnerships, the new system would align CCRI’s offerings with job market demands for skilled workers and would track and publicize its performance, the commission said. The Governor’s Workforce Board would lead the effort, the commission said.
The report also recommended that the school expand its adult education program and its Center for Workforce and Community Education – which provides training services to local companies – and place emphasis on career advancement.
The commission – a mix of lawmakers, educators and labor officials – went on to stress the need for CCRI to be more flexible, saying in the report that state leaders should “encourage a culture of innovation and responsiveness at CCRI to meet the work force development needs of students and business.”
Commissioners recommended the state allocate $500,000 from its budget to expand certain programs at CCRI, develop a marketing campaign and hire a consultant to streamline the organization.
“We believe the recommendations suggested are critical to moving CCRI in a direction that will enable it to build on and strengthen its current work force strategies,” said Armeather Gibbs, the commission chairwoman and chief operating officer of the United Way of Rhode Island. “This work is all about recognizing initiatives that are already in place and ‘connecting the dots’ between education, work force development, job creation, economic development and the overall opportunities for greater financial stability for citizens, employers and the state as a whole.”
State officials said Ray M. Di Pasquale, acting commissioner of higher education and CCRI’s president, and his staff now will work with the Governor’s Workforce Board and other partners to develop a plan to enact the report’s recommendations.
Released at a press conference at CCRI expected to be attended by Gov. Donald L. Carcieri, House Speaker Gordon D. Fox and Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed, the report comes as CCRI is experiencing a boom in enrollment – 17,200 students are taking classes this spring, the second highest enrollment in school history – while state appropriations have been shrinking.
Throughout the 18-page report, the commission noted the school’s “scarce resources,” adding that CCRI should be “funded to capacity” and saying the proposed career pathways system needs the financial support of public, nonprofit and private-sector organizations in order to work.
CCRI is already playing a crucial role in work force development in the state, the commission said. For instance, the school is Rhode Island’s largest supplier of health care workers. But the group said CCRI could be doing more.
“The commission’s research indicates that CCRI is also well-positioned to address demand for workers in financial, accounting, information technology, engineering and technology fields, as well as supervisory positions across industries,” the report said.
“To meet these demands, CCRI must increase enrollments in new areas of study, graduate more students with certificates and degrees in areas of industry demand, and offer more opportunities for students to gain work experience,” the report continued. “It must also address the repeated call from employers for entry-level workers with soft skills. These include communicating in a professional manner and providing customer service.”
The full report is available as a PDF on riedc.com.
