2017 -- S 0826

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LC002296

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2017

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S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

RESPECTFULLY REQUESTING THE GOVERNOR'S WORKFORCE BOARD WORK WITH

THE RHODE ISLAND DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND TRAINING TO DEVELOP A

PLAN FOR THE COMPREHENSIVE EXPANSION OF NEW SKILLS AND COMPETENCY

BASED APPRENTICESHIPS IN A FULL ARRAY OF SECTORS AND TO ASSIST

EMPLOYERS THROUGH THE PROCESS OF INITIATING A NEW REGISTERED

APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM

     Introduced By: Senators Ruggerio, McCaffrey, Goodwin, Pearson, and Algiere

     Date Introduced: April 27, 2017

     Referred To: Senate Labor

     WHEREAS, An apprenticeship is a combination of on-the-job learning and related

classroom instruction in which workers learn the practical and theoretical aspects of a highly

skilled occupation; and

     WHEREAS, Apprenticeships provide workers with practical skills and expand the pool

of skilled workers in sectors where employers cannot find the workers they need; and

     WHEREAS, America's youngest workers tend to experience the most drastic drop in

employment as measured by the employment to population ratio during a recession; and

     WHEREAS, A 2012 report by Mathematica Policy Research estimated the government

tax return for each dollar invested in Registered Apprenticeships are more than twenty-seven

dollars per dollar invested, and on average, total benefits reach more than thirty-five dollars per

dollar; and

     WHEREAS, Employers also realize financial benefits associated with apprenticeship

programs, gaining on average one dollar and forty seven cents per dollar invested in an

apprentice; and

     WHEREAS, Rhode Island currently has traditional apprenticeship programs with over

one thousand and four hundred apprentices, mostly within a construction trade, and has begun

expansion into nontraditional apprenticeship program; and

     WHEREAS, Opportunities and challenges exist to more fully expand such programs to

meet the needs of our workers and employers and to maximize the return on investment; now,

therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

hereby respectfully requests that the Governor's Work Force Board work with the Rhode Island

Department of Labor and Training develop a plan for the comprehensive expansion of new skills

and competency based apprenticeships in a full array of sectors and to assist employers through

the process of initiating a New Registered Apprenticeship Program; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That this Senate hereby respectfully requests that a progress report on the

status and expansion of apprenticeship programs in Rhode Island be submitted to the Senate

President and the Senate Majority Leader on or before January 1, 2018; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Executive Director and Chairperson of the

Governor's Work Force Board, and the Director of the Department of Labor and Training.

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LC002296

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