WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and U.S. Representatives Jim Langevin and David Cicilline, together with Governor Gina M. Raimondo, today announced a new $6 million federal grant to help train hundreds of local workers in advanced manufacturing and IT-related skills to fill open positions with employers.  The Rhode Island Governor’s Workforce Board (RIGWB) will receive the federal funding through the America's Promise Job Driven Grant Program.  This funding will accelerate workforce training for the defense industry in Rhode Island, largely through a strong partnership with Electric Boat, its suppliers, and related companies.

The funds will help train up to 1,000 Rhode Islanders over the next four years in four Real Jobs RI partnerships that focus on advance manufacturing skills and contribute to the defense sector.

“This is good news for the state and we commend Governor Raimondo and her team for putting together a successful application,” said the members of the Congressional delegation in a joint statement.  “This program will help boost the number of skilled workers here in Rhode Island who are ready for high-demand jobs in a number of industries.”

“Not long ago, Rhode Island was a state known for making things.  Because of Senator Reed and the Congressional Delegation’s leadership, Rhode Islanders are poised to rebuild Rhode Island and make things once again,” said Governor Raimondo. “Rhode Islanders have always been willing and eager to make an investments in themselves.  This America’s Promise grant will expand the Real Jobs RI program and prepare hundreds of Rhode Islanders for the advanced manufacturing jobs we’re creating in our state.  Thanks to the partnership from our Congressional Delegation and DLT Director Scott Jensen’s leadership, Rhode Island’s advanced industry economy is growing more quickly than any state in New England.”

Through Real Jobs RI, a sector-based workforce development approach, large employers in some of the state’s key industries and various stakeholders have come together to identify common workforce challenges and enact proven strategies to provide Rhode Islanders the prerequisite training to develop skills and secure jobs.

Two years ago, Electric Boat, a company with major production sites in Rhode Island and Connecticut, was awarded the largest shipbuilding contract in the history of the United States Navy to continue building the Virginia-class attack submarines.  Earlier this year, Electric Boat was selected as the prime contractor to design and deliver the Ohio-replacement submarines, which serve as a key component to our nation’s nuclear deterrent triad.  Electric Boat plans to nearly double its workforce in the coming years to fulfill its commitments with the Navy.

This federal funding will allow the RIGWB to collaborate with Electric Boat, the Eastern Connecticut Workforce Investment Board, and other workforce development partners on the Real Jobs RI Pipeline to Manufacturing Careers in Ship Building Program.  The RIGWB will also collaborate with the Real Jobs Rhode Island Cybersecurity Partnership, the Rhode Island Manufacturing Boot Camp, and the Marine and Composites Partnership, to help member employers fill open positions in the defense sector.  The program will focus on providing the education and training needed to place between 700 and 1,000 people in mid-to-highly skilled careers in the advanced manufacturing and IT-related industries, which currently utilize the H-1B temporary visa program to meet workforce needs.

Through Real Jobs RI, both unemployed and underemployed Rhode Islanders will be placed in jobs that are critical to our national defense and important for economic prosperity.  Employers will continue to play a proactive role in the state’s workforce development system as well as help strengthen the State’s talent pipeline and put workers on career pathways.

About Real Jobs Rhode Island

Real Jobs RI is a flexible demand-driven workforce development program that supports ideas from employers and partners of all sizes to connect people to the job openings of today and in the near future. Planning and implementation grants help employers analyze the workforce demands of industry and cross-industry sectors over a sustained period of time and build partner relationships that will produce a stable pipeline of trained workers to jobs.