| R 264 |
| 2017 -- S 0826 Enacted 05/23/2017 |
| S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N |
| RESPECTFULLY REQUESTING THE GOVERNOR'S WORKFORCE BOARD WORK WITH THE RHODE ISLAND DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND TRAINING TO DEVELOP A PLAN FOR THE COMPREHENSIVE EXPANSION OF NEW SKILLS AND COMPETENCY BASED APPRENTICESHIPS IN A FULL ARRAY OF SECTORS AND TO ASSIST EMPLOYERS THROUGH THE PROCESS OF INITIATING A NEW REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM |
| Introduced By: Senators Ruggerio, McCaffrey, Goodwin, Pearson, and Algiere |
| Date Introduced: April 27, 2017 |
| WHEREAS, An apprenticeship is a combination of on-the-job learning and related |
| classroom instruction in which workers learn the practical and theoretical aspects of a highly |
| skilled occupation; and |
| WHEREAS, Apprenticeships provide workers with practical skills and expand the pool |
| of skilled workers in sectors where employers cannot find the workers they need; and |
| WHEREAS, America's youngest workers tend to experience the most drastic drop in |
| employment as measured by the employment to population ratio during a recession; and |
| WHEREAS, A 2012 report by Mathematica Policy Research estimated the government |
| tax return for each dollar invested in Registered Apprenticeships are more than twenty-seven |
| dollars per dollar invested, and on average, total benefits reach more than thirty-five dollars per |
| dollar; and |
| WHEREAS, Employers also realize financial benefits associated with apprenticeship |
| programs, gaining on average one dollar and forty seven cents per dollar invested in an |
| apprentice; and |
| WHEREAS, Rhode Island currently has traditional apprenticeship programs with over |
| one thousand and four hundred apprentices, mostly within a construction trade, and has begun |
| expansion into nontraditional apprenticeship program; and |
| WHEREAS, Opportunities and challenges exist to more fully expand such programs to |
| meet the needs of our workers and employers and to maximize the return on investment; now, |
| therefore be it |
| RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations |
| hereby respectfully requests that the Governor's Work Force Board work with the Rhode Island |
| Department of Labor and Training develop a plan for the comprehensive expansion of new skills |
| and competency based apprenticeships in a full array of sectors and to assist employers through |
| the process of initiating a New Registered Apprenticeship Program; and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That this Senate hereby respectfully requests that a progress report on the |
| status and expansion of apprenticeship programs in Rhode Island be submitted to the Senate |
| President and the Senate Majority Leader on or before January 1, 2018; and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to |
| transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Executive Director and Chairperson of the |
| Governor's Work Force Board, and the Director of the Department of Labor and Training. |
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| LC002296 |
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