Salesforce, the leading customer relationship management (CRM) platform based in San Francisco has approximately 49,0000 employees across the globe, but perhaps the company’s most interesting characteristic is it’s culture of support.

In July, Salesforce CEO Mark Benioff joined Governor Gina Raimondo and industry leaders to commit resources to the state’s new “Back to Work RI” initiative aimed at supporting displaced workers with critical training programs to help navigate the post COVID-19 job market. As part of the initiative, Salesforce piloted a paid virtual training program for Rhode Islanders that would provide the opportunity for technical skill-building along with coaching from mentors to help them learn about Salesforce tools, gain experience and build upon their skills throughout the training.

Salesforce partnered with SkillsRI to recruit Rhode Island for the opportunity. Salesforce offered two training tracks: Business Development Trainee or Solution Engineer Trainee. Candidates would be paid $25/hour over the course of the three-month, full-time contract with Salesforce.

“SalesForce dot com in China” by SoniaT 360. is licensed under CC BY 2.0″

SkillsRI recruiters attracted over 400 applications from across Rhode Island within a span of two weeks! Working hand-in-hand with the Salesforce team to schedule interviews with highly-qualified Rhode Islanders, SkillRI submitted a total of 90 candidates for consideration who had a wide range of education levels, from high school diplomas to a Master’s degrees. Of the Rhode Islanders placed in the program, 100% were sourced by SkillsRI, and 67% were female. We are thrilled to have had the opportunity to collaborate with a leading company that is helping Rhode Islanders from all walks of life get back into the workforce! A few of the candidates placed included a woman returning to work after having a family in 2011, and a lawyer who was forced to close his practice due to COVID-19.

Virtual training for our candidates has started this month, and the feedback has been overwhelming positive! Trainees have been given access to full-time benefits, one-on-one time with mentors across Salesforce, and plenty of professional development opportunities.

“The Salesforce opportunity has been excellent for Rhode Islanders who are re-entering the workforce and looking to sharpen their professional skills or further their technical expertise,” said Sarah Houser, Senior Recruiter for SkillsRI. “It has also acted as a transitional opportunity for several applicants who previously worked in the gig-economy, and small business owners who have been unable to return since the advent of Covid-19.”