Langevin to Tour Second District to Talk About Skills and Job Training

In 2010, Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI) convened the Rhode Island Summit on the Economy to discuss strategies for closing the skills gap, strengthening the state’s workforce and improving Rhode Island’s economic outlook. The forum gave way to a Rhode Island Skilled Economy, or RISE, Tour that has continued over the past three years.

Throughout the month of August, Langevin picks up where he left off.

The RISE Classroom to Career tour will highlight skills and job training programs across Langevin’s district, allowing the Congressman to connect with program coordinators to find out more about current employer demands and the resources needed to prepare Rhode Island’s workforce accordingly. Langevin is co-chair of the Congressional Career and Technical Education Caucus and has recently introduced the Counseling for Career Choice Act to ensure that high school students are made fully aware of their career and education options prior to graduation. The Classroom to Career tour puts that concept into practice, both for students still unsure of their futures and for adults looking for stable employment.

“As the economic recovery continues locally and nationally, more employers are looking for qualified workers. Skills and job training programs are critical to meeting that demand,” Langevin said. “In order to keep businesses in Rhode Island, we must maintain a skilled workforce. In order to keep our promising young people here, we must maintain quality education and training programs and the promise of good jobs to come. If we support our workforce, they will in turn boost our economy.”

On Tuesday, Congressman Langevin will kick off the tour at the New Horizons Computer Learning Center in Providence, where he will meet with New Horizons IT counselors and students and tour the facility.   

On Wednesday, Langevin will visit the AS220 arts space to meet with youth coordinators and participants in arts-training programs and tour the AS220 industries. Later, he will stop at the Thundermist Health Center facility in West Warwick and discuss a new residency program that immerses residents in all facets of health care.

On Thursday, the Classroom to Career tour will bring Langevin to New England Institute of Technology in East Greenwich where he will attend the Rhode Island School Counselors Association summer meeting to talk to professional school counselors about the Counseling for Career Choice Act and preparing young people for life after graduation.

Classroom to Career stops will continue beyond this week, with further information to follow. Stops are expected to include the netWORKri branch in West Warwick to discuss resources for job seekers, the Rhode Island Community Food Bank’s Community Kitchen to meet with adults finding second careers in the culinary industry and the Venture for America program that connects college graduates with start-up companies.

The Classroom to Career tour will culminate in a Back to School day in September, at which time Langevin will share what he learned in Rhode Island career “classrooms” with students across the state.