Traditionally, community education centers offer a range of classes for those seeking work. A potential candidate comes in with a set of qualifications and usually takes classes towards a particular job in an adjacent field.
In Rhode Island, that process has flipped thanks to a public and private sector partnership to educate workers.
Last week, the Rhode Island Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner and the Governor's office cut the ribbon on the Woonsocket Education Center with employer partners including CVS Health, Fidelity and AAA Northeast. According to Rhode Island Commissioner of Postsecondary Education Shannon Gilkey, these partnerships will provide a tailor-made pipeline of talent and jobs to the area.
The Woonsocket Education Center, like its sister facilities in Westerly and the RI Nursing Education Center in Providence, is driven by businesses looking to fill a particular position or field. The facility features classrooms, computer lab space, and a CVS Health Workforce Innovation Talent Center which features a CVS Pharmacy simulated retail environment.
As of the official opening last week, 135 workforce students had been served and the center currently offers a slate of workforce programs including bookkeeping taught by RI College and ServSafe taught by RI Hospitality, which was specifically requested by local non-profits.
Inside the third floor of the former mill building at 115 Main Street, prospective CVS employees are given hands-on training in a fully stocked pharmacy and vaccination clinic, designed to simulate real world service and experience, Gilkey said.
"The CVS program is up and running and it's pretty amazing to see because it looks like a real CVS pharmacy, complete with legitimate products," he said. "That's what their corporate training model calls for so we were able to meet the needs of that employer here. They also have Minute Clinic room set up where you can practice giving shots."
In addition to private business, staff from Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner’s RI Reconnect program are holding office hours at the center and provide career guidance to residents. The Community College of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College, and New England Institute of Technology have already begun providing workforce training, associate-level, and master’s-level courses at the Woonsocket center, Gilkey said.
Using remote technology, Gilkey said, the center is able to offer a wide range of classes from area higher education organizations.
"We offer a unique experience where you can take a class at New England Tech and be sitting next to someone taking a different class at Roger Williams or maybe even Brown University in the future," he said. "We want to make this all about what Rhode Island citizens need to advance their career."
Gilkey continues to work on recruiting more businesses to the Woonsocket Education Center, while meanwhile, he said the Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner is looking for public and private benefactors to help push it along in its first year. The center is also hugely important for Woonsocket itself, Gilkey said. Last year, Woonsocket posted a higher unemployment rate than the state average, according to RI Labor stats.
"Rhode Island is seeing growth in finance, healthcare, bio science and especially the blue energy sector," Gilkey said. "We've got the room here to grow as well. We would love to expand to the second floor where we have even more space."
