A federal grant awarded to the Rhode Island Technology Council (RITEC) will give 500 information technology (IT) workers access to training that will help them advance in their field.
Local companies that are partners in the project will match the $1.75 million grant from the federal government, raising the total funding to $2.7 million,
Many workers in the IT field in Rhode Island lack the skills they need to move up through the ranks into better paying positions, according to a recent study conducted by RITEC.
Beyond Cash Donations: How New Forms of Giving Are Transforming Not-for-Profit Accounting
Evolving Funding Landscape for Not-for-Profits Not-for-profit organizations are being asked to do more with less,…
Learn More
"What we’ve found is that it’s difficult to move from the middle to the top tier (in the IT field)," said Jack Sommer, executive director of the council.
The council applied for the grant after learning that about 70 percent of workers in the top tier have an H1B visa – which temporarily enables foreign workers with college degrees to obtain visas to fill specialty jobs.
"We want to curtail our dependency on H1B visas," he said. "We’d rather train our current work force with the skills they need. We want to work to develop the IT work force if the people are having trouble getting to the next level."
The grant will allow for the re-training of 500 IT employees and also the training of 250 under and unemployed, disabled and minority workers who are underrepresented in the field and want to become IT workers, Sommer said.
And, Sommer said, there is a need for workers in the IT industry.
"We see growth long term in industries like biotechnology and others," he said. "We need to invest in the middle tier, those who have been in the field that we know are dedicated to the IT profession."
The grant will provide money for the council to assess the skills of IT workers who have been in the field for one to eight years, Sommer said. Information about employees from various state companies will be processed in a database that will assess their skills and determine their goals.
"It gives them a road map that tells them what classes they need to take and what certifications they need," he said.
A second part of the grant will help create a partnership between business and academics.
Sommer said the study found that current employees are lacking critical thinking, interpersonal communication and project management skills.
"It will bring them together to figure out what skills are needed today for current students as well as workers," he said. "There’s always been a gap between the private sector and academia – this closes that gap so when deans are putting together course guidelines, there’s input from future employers."
This allows employers to have better workers and workers to be better prepared for the workforce.
"It’s a win-win situation for everybody," he said. "Businesses get what they want and colleges get to do more with continuing education."
