Home Economy Real Jobs RI eyed for changes under McKee’s ‘Rhode to Prosperity’ plan

Real Jobs RI eyed for changes under McKee’s ‘Rhode to Prosperity’ plan

By

Katie Castellani

-

05/17/2024

WITH SUPPORT from the Real Jobs Rhode Island initiative, there have been collaborations such as one among Westerly Education Center, the R.I. Department of Labor and Training, the R.I. Office of Postsecondary Commissioner and businesses across the state. A trainee learns about circuits at the Westerly Education Center in 2019. / PBN FILE PHOTO/BRIAN MCDONALD

Real Jobs Rhode Island has been a popular workforce development program since it was launched in 2015 under former Gov. Gina M. Raimondo. Now Gov. Daniel J. McKee is looking to change it. The program has long been touted as innovative, providing money for training programs designed and operated by industries rather than government agencies.

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Real Jobs Rhode Island has been a popular workforce development program since it was launched in 2015 under former Gov. Gina M. Raimondo. Now Gov. Daniel J. McKee is looking to change it. The program has long been touted as innovative, providing money for training programs designed and operated by industries rather than government agencies. The thinking: Businesses know best what training is in demand. Real Jobs has led to 16,739 job placements and served 1,246 businesses since its inception, according to data provided by the R.I. Department of Labor and Training, which oversees the program. But with funding starting to run short, DLT and the R.I. Office of Postsecondary Commissioner need to be more selective about the training programs that receive Real Jobs funding, and the McKee administration wants to ensure businesses and other industry partners make some commitments The administration is looking for employers to commit to putting workers on a path to higher wages and to improve their communication for how programs will do this. DLT Director Matthew Weldon says Real Jobs' demand-driven model will remain, but leaders will look more closely at requests. Projects that can show wage improvements will be more likely to receive financial assistance from the Real Job initiative. Weldon says the shift is part of Gov. Daniel J. McKee’s recently announced “Rhode to Prosperity” plan, which is focused on raising per-capita income in Rhode Island by a minimum of $20,000 by 2030. It also comes as COVID-19 relief funds – which Weldon says offered an unprecedented amount of funding for Real Jobs – are evaporating. In fiscal 2024, funding for the program is estimated to total $54.9 million but is expected to drop to $18.9 million in 2025, according to the DLT. “We can’t keep funding job training just for the sake of job training,” Weldon said. Weldon says details of the shift will be worked out as state leaders meet with employers over the next two to three months. Employers appear supportive. “A refresh of a program that’s working is exactly what you want from the state government,” said Thomas Giordano, executive director of Partnership Rhode Island, a nonprofit CEO roundtable involving some of the state’s largest employers. Giordano notes that the employment landscape has changed dramatically since Real Jobs was founded. The unemployment rate is about half of what it was when the initiative was launched. While there is lower unemployment, he says a large portion of the workforce has been on the sidelines since COVID-19 and also there is greater turnover at workplaces. Giordano says employers in Partnership Rhode Island have been doing a good job of communicating their workforce needs so far, but they could be better and they are willing to make an effort. “Employers have a deep commitment to better signaling,” Giordano said. He says the employers’ needs are largely understood from gathering data through polls and surveys. He also says there have been discussions among employers, education partners and state leaders within Rhode Island, but they could be more consistent and tailored. One model Giordano says has worked well and hopes to bring to Rhode Island is the Greater Washington Partnership’s Employer Signaling System, which relies on employers communicating their needs and convening with educators and other stakeholders. Rick Simone, president of the Federal Hill Commerce Association and managing director of the Rhode Island Small Business Coalition, says he is also supportive of the shift. Each year Real Jobs helps fill around 600 to 700 of the more than 1,000 openings on Federal Hill, according to the association, and Simone says he’s confident the employers are communicating in the way state leaders are looking for. He says that twice a year the association conducts a survey with businesses about how many openings they have and the types of positions, the results of which are promoted on the association’s website. Simone says the Rhode Island Small Business Coalition is newer to the program but is working to develop a similar system where employers can directly upload openings into a portal on the coalition’s website. Neither Giordano nor Simone say they are concerned about the decrease in funding for Real Jobs as the program is looking to fine-tune its resources and more funding details will be available after the General Assembly votes on the state budget near the end of the legislative session. Real Jobs gets federal support and funding from the state's general revenue. Laura Hart, deputy director of communications for McKee, says $6.1 million has been set aside for Real Jobs Rhode Island from general revenue in McKee’s 2024 and 2025 budget proposals. Hart said McKee plans to hold “Rhode to Prosperity” outreach and feedback sessions this summer that will “inform the administration’s planning for [fiscal 2026] workforce development initiatives.” Hart said the “Rhode to Prosperity” plan is aimed at expanding the success of Real Jobs by “working to align existing training, certification and degree programs with the needs of Rhode Island employers – increasing participation in field-specific education programs that lead to Rhode Island-based employment in those fields.” “The goal of this governor’s office-directed effort is to get focused engagement across private and the public sectors, so we can all work together to raise incomes for Rhode Islanders,” Hart said.