“I don’t think anyone could have predicted a small seed investment in 2007 could yield thousands of careers for Rhode Islanders just a short period later.”
This fall, Andrew Cortés, Building Futures’ president & CEO, spent some time with David Cicilline for a thoughtful conversation about the power of apprenticeships on the Together RI podcast. In 2007, the RI Foundation provided initial seed funding for Building Futures that has since led to a tremendous impact for thousands of Rhode Islanders. These impacts were made possible due to Building Futures’ high quality pre-apprenticeship program, which connects directly to excellent long-term careers. Further, they discussed extending these employment opportunities to more Rhode Islanders, and the enduring power of registered apprenticeship – for the employer – with a $1.47 return on every $1.00 invested in the investment, and for the apprentice, who will earn on average $300,000 more over the course of their career than someone who doesn’t complete an apprenticeship.
Check out the podcast conversation here.
He is the founder, president, and CEO of Building Futures- a non-profit that prepares people from historically underserved communities for jobs in the trades. Andrew joins David in the studio to talk more about his organization and the lives it has changed.
Learn more about the Rhode Island Foundation at https://rifoundation.org/.