| R 091 |
| 2016 -- S 2326 Enacted 03/03/2016 |
| S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N |
| RESPECTFULLY REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND TRAINING TO INCLUDE GREEN INDUSTRIES IN THE REAL JOBS RI PROGRAM |
| Introduced By: Senators P Fogarty, Metts, Nesselbush, Jabour, and Picard |
| Date Introduced: February 09, 2016 |
| WHEREAS, It is essential to prepare our workforce to meet the demands of the green |
| economy; and |
| WHEREAS, The Department of Labor and Training has introduced Real Jobs RI, a |
| demand-driven workforce and economic development initiative that is collaborative, flexible and |
| business-led; and |
| WHEREAS, The program aims to address the skills gap across various industries in |
| Rhode Island, to identify a workforce shortage and to develop a plan with a coordinated solution; |
| and |
| WHEREAS, In July of 2015, the Department of Labor and Training awarded planning |
| grants of up to $25,000 to twenty-one recipient organizations; and |
| WHEREAS, Planning grant applicants were tasked with assembling a strategic industry |
| partnership, identifying the training, education, human resource and other solutions to address the |
| identified critical business needs, and developing a detailed workforce training and |
| implementation plan; and |
| WHEREAS, In November of 2015, twenty-six Strategic Industry Partnerships received |
| Implementation Grants totaling $5 million in federal and state funds; and |
| WHEREAS, These implementation grants provide funding that allows applicants to |
| execute developed workforce training plans that will address immediate, short-term, or long-term |
| shortages identified by the employed partners; and |
| WHEREAS, Successful plans lead to the hiring of participants by employer partners at |
| the conclusion of their training; now, therefore be it |
| RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations |
| hereby respectfully requests the Department of Labor and Training to include green industries |
| partnerships in the next solicitation for Real Jobs RI and implementation grants; and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That this Senate supports this as a first step towards minimizing the skills |
| gap across several green industries to help move Rhode Island's economy forward; and be it |
| further |
| RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to |
| transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to the Director of the Rhode Island Department of |
| Labor and Training. |
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| LC004372 |
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