CCRI awarded Real Jobs Rhode Island partner designation

April 16, 2019

The Community College of Rhode Island has been designated a lead partner in one of the 12 new Real Jobs Rhode Island implementation grants totaling $1.6 million through the Department of Labor and Training announced by Gov. Gina Raimondo on April 8.

After issuing solicitation for proposals in January, the Department of Labor and Training received applications from employers across the state. The 12 new grantees join Real Jobs Rhode Island’s network of strategic, employer-led, industry partnerships that develop customized solutions to address the unique workforce challenges of Rhode Island's high-demand and high-wage industries and expand opportunities for Rhode Islanders.

Through CCRI’s partnership, Digital Economy Aspirations Labs (DEAL), CCRI will build, pilot and scale programming that will significantly impact those in and those seeking roles in the digital economy. DEAL will create an ecosystem in which industry experts, employer partners and faculty convene to design and rapidly deploy education and training solutions to meet labor market demand in the digital sector at a state, regional and national scale. DEAL will serve as the principal workforce development technology hub for community college and industry collaborations and will be led by CCRI’s Division of Workforce Partnerships.

In addition to DEAL, CCRI joins Rhode Island Long Term Care as a Real Jobs Rhode Island strategic partner to create a sustainable long-term care workforce for the state.

“Real Jobs Rhode Island has served almost 6,000 Rhode Islanders, helping them get the skills they need to compete in a rapidly changing economy,” said Governor Raimondo. “Our employer-centered model allows Rhode Island employers to directly train future employees for good-paying jobs and is a critical element of our success. I'm thrilled that we're continuing to grow Real Jobs, and I'm confident that these 12 new partnerships in high-demand fields will open doors for hardworking Rhode Islanders.”

“Our Real Jobs Rhode Island designation will allow CCRI to leverage critical workforce training dollars that will support the design and delivery of just-in-time workforce programming,” said Julian L. Alssid, vice president of Workforce Partnerships at CCRI. “The Division of Workforce Partnerships is staffed and ready to help Rhode Island companies build their talent pipelines and fortify their incumbent workers for jobs in the economy of tomorrow.”

Real Jobs Rhode Island is a state and federally funded, competitive workforce and economic development grant program Raimondo launched in 2015. To date, these partnerships have developed workforce solutions for nearly 800 local employers, connected 2,913 Rhode Islanders to employment and upskilled more than 2,845 incumbent workers and entrepreneurs.