Brown University invests $3 million to boost Rhode Island’s workforce in education, construction

CCRI currently enrolls more than 250 early childhood education students each year, but the demand for early childhood educators and teaching assistants exceeds the program’s capacity. The grant from Brown will enable CCRI to enroll five cohorts of students in the new certificate program over the next three years, helping new educators enter the field while also supporting current teachers as they work toward full teaching certification.

“This partnership with Brown University and the Providence Public School District represents an important advancement toward expanding clear, supported pathways to credential and career attainment in the high-demand field of bilingual early childhood education,” said CCRI President Rosemary A. Costigan. “We are grateful to Brown for launching this work with CCRI, and to our partners at PPSD and Mayor Smiley’s office for their collaboration as we build a program that responds to the needs of both our students and community. It is our hope that this work will continue to expand and have statewide impact.” 

 As the state’s largest employer of early childhood educators, PPSD has committed to hiring graduates who complete the 24-credit CCRI certificate program. The program requires no prior college experience and will use a hybrid in-person/online model with evening and weekend classes.

The flexible structure was jointly developed by the district and the community college to enable current PPSD teaching assistants to advance into higher-level positions without interrupting their existing roles. And for those seeking full teacher licensure, the program offers a streamlined transfer pathway to a four-year degree from Rhode Island College or the University of Rhode Island through CCRI’s joint admission agreements.

Expanding access to opportunity through apprenticeship

The University’s $1.5 million grant to Building Futures will expand three programs over the next three years, enabling the organization to prepare and place more than 250 Rhode Islanders into local careers through registered apprenticeships across construction, health care, IT, education, manufacturing and other sectors.

Building Futures is nationally recognized for its pre-apprenticeship program. It has equipped hundreds of local residents — including many from low-income backgrounds or with histories of incarceration — with skills and pathways to careers in building and construction trades, plus career counseling and job placement support. 

The grant funding from Brown will support a contractor incentive program; an apprenticeship readiness program for incarcerated individuals to support community reintegration and careers in the building trades; and partnerships with private employers to create new apprenticeship programs that expand the organization’s proven workforce development model into other sectors.

“Programs led by Building Futures not only empower Rhode Islanders to launch new careers, but also serve as a valuable bridge between skilled workers and the employers that need them,” Callan said. “With the grant support from Brown, Building Futures can build on that impact and expand program capacity, accelerate job placement and catalyze further growth across the state’s workforce in the building trades and beyond.”

Building Futures and Brown have enjoyed a long partnership, with more than 460 Building Futures graduates having benefited from Brown’s commitment to registered apprenticeships, and most spending some portion of their training on a Brown construction project. The partnership dates to 2012, when Brown became the first private institution in Rhode Island to commit to employing apprentices, requiring that at least 15% of labor hours on construction projects over $5 million be performed by apprentices. More than 10% of the 2.2 million apprentice hours tracked as part of Building Futures’ Apprentice Utilization Program were on Brown projects.

“For more than a decade, Brown has been an essential partner in ensuring industry demand for pre-apprenticeship program graduates,” said Andrew Cortés, president and CEO of Building Futures. “Brown’s commitment to registered apprenticeship utilization is a forward-thinking approach with a double impact: It leverages capital dollars to help adults experiencing poverty launch life-changing careers in the trades, and it builds the next generation of the construction workforce Rhode Island needs. We are incredibly grateful for this next chapter in Brown’s commitment, which allows us to expand opportunities for rewarding careers with family-supporting wages for residents of Providence and Rhode Island.”

Brown’s grant will support a program that provides contractors who hire Building Futures graduates with an incentive equivalent to 50% of an apprentice’s wages for up to 400 hours. With the support, Building Futures plans to support 120 apprentices in establishing careers with local building and construction trade unions over the next three years.

The funding will also support participation in one of the organization’s newest programs, Building Futures Inside. Offered in partnership with the Rhode Island Department of Corrections, the initiative provides 120 hours of training to inmates in state correctional institutions. After release, participants transition to Building Futures’ community-based pre-apprenticeship program. Building Futures anticipates that the funding will enable the program to expand to 72 new participants over the next three years.