CHAFEE BUDGET: $3 Million for Workforce Development

CHAFEE BUDGET: $3 Million for Workforce Development

As part of his 2014 fiscal year budget, Governor Lincoln Chafee is proposing a $3 million “investment” over two years for a subsidized work immersion and non-trade apprenticeship program.

Saying that Rhode Island has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country and arguing that on-the-job training “can lead to career opportunities for participants,” the governor’s budget includes two proposals that he says will “incentivize experiential learning.”

The first, called the “Statewide Work Immersion Program” provides a 50-percent match for businesses providing 200 hours of work experience over a 10-week period, a match that could jump to 75 percent if the business hires the individual at the end of that period.

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Businesses can only take advantage up to the allotted 200 hour benchmark and only if they pay the individual at least minimum wage.

The second program, titled the “Non-trade apprenticeship program,” awards a $250,000 grant to at least one of the governor’s ‘Workforce Board Industry Partners” per year.