NEIT Wins $2.5m Marine Trades and Manufacturing Grant

U.S. Senator Jack Reed on Sunday hailed a new $2.5 million federal grant to help the New England Institute of Technology (NEIT) in Rhode Island support job-driven training programs that focus on shipbuilding, marine trades, advanced manufacturing and manufacturing industries.

Thanks to the federal grant from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grant program, NEIT will add five additional industry-recognized credential programs to its existing two core programs.

“This is a win for NEIT’s new Shipbuilding/Marine, Advanced Manufacturing Institute, a win for local workers looking to advance their careers, and a win for Rhode Island businesses looking to hire skilled workers. These are the kinds of partnerships – ones that create direct connections between colleges, employers, and potential employees -- that we need to replicate to put Rhode Islanders back to work and get our economy growing faster,” said Reed, a member of the Appropriations Committee. “The surest path to a better future is through investing in people. This federal funding for Rhode Island helps us address immediate workforce needs and reengineer our approach to job training.”

In 2013, New England Tech was awarded $2.5 million in federal funding to establish the Shipbuilding/Marine and Advanced Manufacturing Institute (SAMI) to help train unemployed Rhode Islanders. The SAMI program -- centrally located at New England Tech’s Post Road campus in Warwick -- recruits, screens, and trains individuals for high demand careers at no cost to participants. It also provides work-readiness, career exploration, and academic and career advising. The primary fields are welding and machining. Employer partners include: Electric Boat, Senesco Marine, Blount Boats, Guill Tool and Engineering Company, R.I. Carbide Tool Company, Swissline Precision Manufacturing, Porter Machine, Pilgrim Screw, and Maro Display. To date, approximately 90 percent of the people who have completed the SAMI program are employed.

Reed also worked to pass the law to expand resources for the Trade Adjustment Community College Career Training (TACCCT) program to support community colleges in developing demand-driven job training programs. Both the Community College of Rhode Island and NEIT have received grants from the TACCCT program.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, this federal grant will help provide entry-level and advanced skills sought by the private sector partners to hundreds of Rhode Island program participants. The funds will be used for a variety of activities, including:

• hiring or training instructors to expand their capacity to offer in-demand courses or certifications,

• leveraging online learning to accelerate skills attainment,

• developing new curricula and training models to add additional classes and certifications,

• purchasing new equipment to ensure students train on what employers actually use,

• soliciting feedback from local employers and designing new programs based on their needs, and

• expanding career pathways in which stackable credentials are linked to industry skills that lead participants to higher-skill jobs.