U.S. Senator Reed and DLT Director Weldon joined speakers at Building Futures to announce the award of a new State Apprenticeship Expansion, Equity, and Innovation Grant. This project continues the successful partnership between DLT and Building Futures.
Dulari Tahbildar, Director, RI Child Care Training Program of the SEIU Education and Support Fund spoke about the newly created Family Child Care Registered Apprenticeship which has removed barriers for providers in earning their Child Development Associate Credential, a nationally established early learning credential.
Karen Zuniga, the Assistant Director of Community Health at ONE Neighborhood Builders discussed how the newly established Community Health Worker Registered Apprenticeship Program has created a pathway for community members to play a critical role during COVID-19 while also launching a new career.
Michael Sabitoni, President of the RI Building and Construction Trades Council shared the RIBCTC’s commitment to providing opportunity through Registered Apprenticeship and the urgent need to bring more men and women into the trades as projects resume.
Danny Chatman, the first Black union president of the Ironworkers Local 37 (now retired) spoke to the ongoing challenges of equity and inclusion and the power of Registered Apprenticeship to create opportunity and to overcome those challenges.
Finally, Jessy Anderson, who graduated Building Futures’ construction pre-apprenticeship earlier in June, spoke about his opportunity to be the very first apprentice in a newly created Project Management Registered Apprenticeship with Dimeo construction.
Read the project summary.
FOR PLANNING PURPOSES: June 28, 2021
CONTACT: Chip Unruh, (202) 224-4642
***MEDIA ADVISORY***
New $4M Federal Grant to Boost RI Job-Training & Workforce Development
RIDLT getting federal funds to modernize, diversify, and expand access to apprenticeship programs & develop new ones
PROVIDENCE, RI – In an effort to create job opportunities and career paths for workers while strengthening the state’s economy, Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation is announcing nearly $4 million to support, modernize, and diversify Registered Apprenticeship Programs in Rhode Island.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, June 29 at 10:00 a.m., U.S. Senator Jack Reed will join with officials from the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (DLT), Building Futures, and labor leaders to announce a new State Apprenticeship Expansion Equity and Innovation (SAEEI) Grant to support DLT’s Apprenticeship FOWARD Project, which will modernize and expand Registered Apprenticeship Programs, and increase the diversity of programs and participants. The SAEEI funds will continue the highly successful Apprenticeship Rhode Island partnership between DLT and Building Futures, a non-profit organization centered on the model, and will support strategic Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs), recruit 500 new apprentices, and provide no-cost technical assistance to employers in creating new apprenticeship models.
Apprenticeships provide an on-ramp to job-training and career paths, where participants earn as they learn. Rhode Island’s apprenticeship programs that will benefit from this grant include: construction, health care, manufacturing, green/plant-based industries, and business services, including information technology. These apprenticeships help people achieve traditional professional licenses including electricians, pipefitters, and HVAC technicians and also open opportunities to non-traditional apprenticeships in industries not typically associated with apprenticeship programs. This federal grant will support the traditional and non-traditional apprenticeship programs and expand awareness and use of these powerful tools for workforce development.
WHO: U.S. Senator Jack Reed;
DLT Director Matt Weldon;
Building Futures Executive Director Andrew L. Cortés;
SEIU Education and Support Fund Director Dulari Tahbildar; and
RI Building and Construction Trades Council President Michael Sabitoni
WHEN: Tuesday, June 29 at 10:00 a.m.
WHERE: Building Futures
One Acorn Street
Providence