There’s more money earmarked for a popular jobs training program in Gov. Dan McKee’s proposed state budget than has ever been allotted before, money McKee vowed would not be derailed by any federal budget cuts.
“No matter what comes our way from D.C., we’re going to stay the course,” McKee said at an event at McLaughlin Research Corporation in Middletown, promoting the state’s Real Jobs program.
Matthew Weldon, director of the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training said there’s more than $14 million earmarked for the Real Jobs program, including $2.3 million in new job development funds that McKee said would help train an additional 500 Rhode Islanders.
McKee and Weldon were joined at the program by Molly Donohue Magee, chief executive officer of SENEDIA (Southeastern New England Defense Industry Alliance) and Domenic Gargano, president of McLaughlin Research.
McLaughlin has been participating in the internship programs for years, with some 60 individuals passing through the company’s program, several of whom have become fulltime McLaughlin employees, and some of whom demonstrated projects during the program.
McLaughlin Research describes itself as a full life cycle engineering and technical services company, supporting a wide range of Department of Defense weapon, combat, and sensor system programs. with more than 400 employees located in Middletown; New London, CT; Keyport, WA; San Diego and Corona, CA; Lexington, MA; and Pearl Harbor, HI.
McLaughlin is among 150 companies that are members of SENEDIA, slightly less than half (70) are in Rhode Island. Some $200,000 of Real Jobs funds is allocated to SENEDIA companies, a fraction of the total Real Jobs funds and is distributed among several companies, McGee said.
The defense industry in the area is valued at $7.6 billion and includes companies such as Electric Boat in Quonset and nearby Connecticut, Magee said.
She said SENEDIA emphasizes helping individuals attain “industry required certification,” focusing “a lot of work with veterans.”
The Real Jobs program, McKee said is designed to “give workers a competitive edge. A skilled trained workforce matters.”