Planning grants available to companies wanting to create jobs

RI Department of Labor and Training now accepting planning grant proposals for Real Jobs RI workforce development initiative

CRANSTON, RI – The Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training today announced that it is soliciting planning grant proposals for Real Jobs RI, part of Governor Gina M. Raimondo’s jobs plan that puts employers’ needs at the center of government workforce development actions to jumpstart the Rhode Island economy. 

Applications are due on July 3, 2015, and planning grant awards will be made on July 17, 2015.

“We’ve heard from too many Rhode Island business owners who have struggled to find skilled workers to fill the jobs they have now,” said Governor Raimondo. “Real Jobs RI will help spark our economic recovery by connecting employers with the trained workforce they need to grow and expand. These planning grants are a key step in establishing critical industry partnerships that will put Rhode Islanders back to work.”

“The Real Jobs RI planning grant release is a first step in creating a more demand driven workforce system,” said DLT Director Scott Jensen. “This is an exciting opportunity to learn more about the real demand in Rhode Island’s vibrant sectors.”

"It's essential that we focus on the specific needs of employers as we reshape Rhode Island's job training system.  That's what the Real Jobs approach is all about," said Stefan Pryor, Rhode Island Secretary of Commerce. “Accepting applications is the beginning of what we hope is a successful program—helping employers gain the workforce they need to grow.”

Real Jobs RI is a flexible grant program to support ideas from employers and partners of all sizes, to connect people to job openings more quickly. It is demand driven, collaborative, and business led. This solicitation will help employers to analyze their workforce demands and build partner relationships that will produce a stable pipeline of workers to jobs.

Planning grants of up to $25,000 per grant, for a total of $300,000, will be awarded to enable employers to convene partnerships, determine the specific workforce needs of employers, gather the necessary partners and produce a proposed plan to train individuals to meet those needs. Implementation grants will be available to fund those partnerships whose plans are approved and selected.

Planning grant awards will be made on a competitive basis. Priority will be given to proposals that best meet employer demand and put the most Rhode Islanders back to work. For more information, and for a copy of the Solicitation for Planning Grant Proposals, visit www.dlt.ri.gov/realjobs.

First-year funds of $1.3 million for Real Jobs RI have been requested from the Governor's Workforce Board through its administration of the state Job Development Fund (JDF). The JDF is a long-standing state account dedicated to improving the skills and employability of Rhode Island's workforce.