PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Governor’s Workforce Board has awarded 77 Comprehensive Worker Training grants to help provide on-the-job training for nearly 6,700 Rhode Island workers.
This year’s grants total about $2 million – an increase of 20.5 percent from the $1.59 million the board awarded last March (READ MORE) – but the matching funds required of employers will bring the total to $4 million.
“By offering a 50:50 match for training, the Governor’s Workforce Board R.I. is helping Rhode Island businesses invest in their work force today and improve their productivity in the future,” Joseph J. MarcAurele, chairman of the Governor’s Workforce Board and president of Citizens Bank, Rhode Island, said in a statement this afternoon.
Recipients include 54 businesses in high-wage industries including information, finance and insurance, wholesale trade, manufacturing, construction and professional, scientific and business services.
“Ensuring that people have the right skills for the available jobs is a critical component in laying a stronger economic foundation for when the nation’s economy bounces back,” said Gov. Donald L. Carcieri.
This year’s grants range from a $340 award that will support customer service training at the Rhode Island Hospitality Education Foundation to a $50,000 grant to provide training in lean manufacturing and “value-stream mapping” techniques at Mahr Federal Inc., a Providence-based maker of measuring instruments.
They support a wide range of projects, from “soft skills,” such as diversity training at East Bay Community Action and leadership training at Autocrat Inc., to hands-on training in injection molding at Polytop Corp. and “green” building techniques at Dimeo Construction.
Some companies plan to accomplish the training in-house. For instance, Pot Au Feu Restaurant in Providence will use its award to create DVD training modules for a variety of culinary and hospitality topics. Others propose to team up with outside institutions. They include Taylor Box Co. in Warren, which has lined up the Rhode Island School of Design to help upgrade its employees’ knowledge of design software.
Financing for the worker training grants comes from the R.I. Job Development Fund, which is financed entirely by local employers. Only those employers who contribute to the fund are eligible to apply for grants. The latest recipients, listed by community, are:
Bristol
Covalence Speciality Adhesives LLC, doing business as Berry Plastics Tapes & Coatings, $33,689.80 to train 24 workers
Central Falls
Central Falls Detention Facility Corp., $25,379.50 to train 162
Coventry
Coventry Credit Union, $8,248 to train 101
Cranston
Alga Plastics, $43,325 to train 36
Allesco Industries Inc., $15,342.50 to train 46
Anthony V. Ricci CPA Inc., $7,117 to train six
Big Sisters of Rhode Island, $9,400.50 to train 37
Fielding Manufacturing, $44,200 to train 38
Millwork One, $24,757.50 to train 60
Rhode Island Community Action Association, $9,960 to train 20
Rhode Island Hospitality Education Foundation, $340 to train 36
Spurwink/R.I., $5,657.59 to train 111
Taco Inc., $50,000 to train 477
Technic Inc., $15,420.92 to train 76
Hopkinton
American Kuhne Inc., in the village of Ashaway, $6,800 to train eight
Johnston
Dama Jewelry Technology Inc., $50,000 to train 17
Lincoln
A.T. Cross Co., $23,000 to train 110
Autocrat Inc., $40,885 to train 86
Calise & Sons Bakery Inc., $11,375 to train 31
ChemArt Co., $47,885 to train 37
Creative Computing Inc., $29,360.20 to train 17
Middletown
Advanced Financial Services Inc., $49,680 to train 180
Systems Engineering Associates Corp. (SEA CORP), $49,544 to train 60
Narragansett
NGC Inc., doing business as The Town Dock, $14,450 to train 21
Newport
East Bay Community Action Program, $14,751 to train 272
North Kingstown
General Dynamics Corp.’s Electric Boat division, $43,099.50 to train 65
Perspectives Corp., $15,255 to train 750
The Lightship Group LLC, in Wickford, $12,189.50 to train 20
The R.I. Network for Educational Technology, $19,895 to train 11
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North Smithfield
Polytop Corp., in Slatersville, $32,065.05 to train 18
Pawtucket
B&L Plastics, doing business as Blow Molded Specialties, $14,476.06 to train 36 workers
Cooley Group Inc., $17,212.50 to train 140
M&G Trucking & Transportation Inc., $16,350 to train 15
Priority Management Group Inc., $25,369.20 to train 40
Providence
Admiral Packaging Inc., $39,921 to train 63
Arts & Business Council of Rhode Island Inc., $24,764 to train five
Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island Inc. (BCBSRI), $50,000 to train 850
Crossroads Rhode Island, $6,060 to train 100
Dimeo Construction Co., $50,000 to train 115
Durkee, Brown, Viveiros & Werenfels Architects Inc., $7,568 to train 24
Kahn, Litwin, Renza & Co. Ltd. (KLR), $10,373.45 to train 120
LDC Inc., $13,357 to train six workers
Mahr Federal Inc., $50,000 to train 75
Manufacturing Jewelers and Suppliers of America (MJSA), $1,950 to train 15
Pot Au Feu Restaurant, $46,800 to train 24
Providence Biltmore hotel, $42,262.50 to train 25
Quality Partners of Rhode Island (QPRI), $30,450 to train 25
Re-Focus Inc., $6,650.96 to train 10
R.I. Manufacturing Extension Services (RIMES), $1,242 to train two
The Rhode Island Zoological Society, $7,952.50 to train 12
Sojourner House, $4,125 to train 22 workers
Sophia Academy, $14,000 to train 15
Umicore Indium Products, $20,125 to train 36
Walco Electric Co., $11,642.50 to train 96
WorkPlace Dynamics Inc., $9,452.53 to train seven
Ximedica LLC, $25,194.50 to train 48
Smithfield
Groov-Pin Corp., $37,259 to train 40
Sperian Protection Inc., formerly Bacou-Dalloz S.A., $40,598 to train 278
Urgent Medical Care, $21,610.50 to train 150
Warren
Monarch Industries Inc., $50,000 to train 146
Taylor Box Co., $31,337 to train 23
Warren Electric Corp., $50,000 to train 27
Warwick
Cornerstone Adult Services Inc., $2,790 to train 15
DiLeonardo International Inc., $25,000 to train 27
DiSanto, Priest & Co., $22,048 to train 54
Healthy Babies, Happy Moms Inc., $3,000 to train four
Independence Financial Partners, $42,024 to train 40
Kenney Manufacturing Co., $47,112.50 to train 120
Oracle Lens Manufacturing, $44,637.44 to train 80
Wolverine Joining Technologies Inc., $45,869.86 to train 148
West Warwick
Amtrol Inc., $26,224.26 to train 244
Astro-Med Inc., $49,321 to train 285
Bradford Soap Works Inc., $36,000 to train 10
Woonsocket
Bouckaert Industrial Textiles, $48,420 to train 38
Desperini Contracting Group Inc., $2,972.75 to train three
Hyman Brickle & Sons Inc., $49,574 to train 45
T.E.A.M. Inc., $31,250 to train eight
The R.I. Governor’s Workforce Board – encompassing both the R.I. Human Resource Investment Council and the State Workforce Investment Office – aims to support strategies that improve the existing skill base of the local labor pool and encourage collaboration among the state’s employment, education and economic development entities. Since its inception in September 2005, the 15-member board has made more than $33 million in strategic investments in Rhode Island, including more than $7.5 million in Comprehensive Worker Training grants. For more information, visit www.rihric.com.
