Workforce Board awards $1.3M for job training

CRANSTON – The Governor’s Workforce Board last week awarded $1,298,665 in grants to 69 Rhode Island employers to support employee training.
The grants, which ranged from $585 to $50,000 to each company, must be matched by the recipients. The idea is to help employers leverage their own budgets to pay for greater levels of training than they could afford alone. More than 4,000 workers are expected to benefit.
Forty-nine of the grant recipients are in “high-wage industries” such as information, finance and insurance, wholesale trade, professional services, construction and manufacturing.
“By targeting high-wage industries, the work force board is making a strategic investment in the long-term growth of Rhode Island,” said Adelita Orefice, director of the R.I. Department of Labor and Training and executive director of the board.
Major grant recipients include Oracle Lens Manufacturing in Warwick ($50,000), the Rhode Island Marine Trades Association ($48,986), Cox Communications ($48,375), Goldine Controls in North Kingstown ($49,761), OAR Moldworks in Providence ($49,428) and Citizens Bank of Rhode Island ($50,000).