Thanks to the Providence Journal for coming out last week to see what the Skills RI and PrepareRI work-readiness bootcamp was all about:

PROVIDENCE — Imagine having to sell yourself in three minutes. It’s called an elevator pitch and it’s an exercise perfected by most business school students, marketers and salespeople.

On Friday, a dozen junior high school students squeezed into an overheated classroom at Rhode Island College and prepared to be critiqued.

They are part of a larger cohort of 150 juniors from Newport to North Providence who competed for summer jobs with some of Rhode Island’s best-known companies — CVS, Hasbro, Gilbane, Citizens Bank and others. During the past week, the students, who were selected from an applicant pool of 620 teenagers, participated in a boot camp where they learned business skills, among them, public speaking, problem-solving, effective communication and so on.

The program is sponsored by PrepareRI and offers juniors paid six- to eight-week internships.

The camp culminated with Friday’s elevator pitch, an opportunity for teenagers to describe their strengths, which they had previously identified by taking a 170-question survey.

Janessa Diaz, a junior at Rogers High School in Newport, said she was surprised to learn that what she thought were her weaknesses — strong communications skills, empathy — were actually her strengths.

Nina Pande, executive director of Skills for Rhode Island’s Future, the group that organized the summer internship program, and Kiara Butler, CEO of Diversity Talks, provided constructive feedback.

“I know you know this material,” Pande said to Diaz, who was nervous. “Own it.”

“There were moments when you were looking for words,” Butler added. “Tell me a story.”

Daniela Acarapi of North Providence, a recent arrival from Bolivia, did just that.

When a family couldn’t pull together enough money for their daughter’s hip surgery, Acarapi and a friend began fundraising. Although they fell short of their goal, she said the challenge was a lesson in setting goals.

She also described a less successful effort to master English, where she had to swallow her pride and ask for help. After her speech, Butler said, “I liked your level of vulnerability.”

“But I was distracted by the slides,” said Pande, who then encouraged Acarapi to use her bilingualism as an asset.

Jenny King of Lincoln High School said she was disappointed that so many of her strengths fell within one category, the softer skills. None were in strategic thinking. Armed with this knowledge, she is now considering a career in communications. Butler urged her to use the full five minutes allotted for her pitch, while Pande said she left some important information on the table.

After the pitches were over, several students shared their biggest takeaway from boot camp. They all agreed that the sessions devoted to discovering their strengths were the most helpful.

Cameron Borges, who plans to become a software developer, said he felt honored to be here, calling the opportunity “a blessing for me.”

“I love to succeed,” the Newport teenager said. “Finding out that that was my biggest talent was the most wonderful experience.”

Ethan Savoie, of North Smithfield, said the boot camp pushed him out of his middle-class comfort zone.

“I was sitting alone and a few girls of color wanted to know if I’d sit with them,” he said. “We talked about how they live. There were differences but there were also similarities in our lives.”

David Cournoyer wants to be a flight nurse. During boot camp, he had a chance to speak with two top executives from CVS, who told him that the company offers nursing scholarships. That conversation and the whole concept of networking was a revelation.

“I’m going to try and get one of those.”

The program, in its first year, is funded by grants from the Governor’s Workforce Board and New Skills for Youth.

— lborg@providencejournal.com

(401) 277-7823

 

Click here to read the full article

Paid Summer Internships Give High School Students Hands-on Work Experience

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – This summer, through the PrepareRI Internship Program, 100 high school students will gain hands-on work experience at some of Rhode Island’s leading employers, in industries like technology, health care, finance, and education. The application is now open, and students selected to participate will jumpstart their careers through professional skills training, on-the-job experience, and connections to adult mentors who can help them achieve their career goals.

“Seventy percent of jobs in Rhode Island will require some form of postsecondary education or training, making work-based learning a critical piece of our workforce development strategy,” said Governor Gina M. Raimondo. “The PrepareRI Internship Program builds a strong talent pipeline for Rhode Island businesses and gives our young people a head start, allowing them to hone soft skills and learn on the job so they are better prepared for success after high school.”

Summer 2018 is the pilot year for PrepareRI Internships, an initiative of the Governor’s Workforce Board that is being managed by an independent intermediary, Skills for Rhode Island’s Future (SkillsRI). SkillsRI will vet and match rising high school seniors to internship opportunities after the application period closes on April 15.

“For the past few years, more and more employers have expressed concerns about not having enough skilled talent in Rhode Island. The GWB is thrilled to see the overwhelming response from employers to host high school interns and invest in the workforce of their future,” said Heather Hudson, Executive Director of the Governor’s Workforce Board. “Providing our young people with access to real-life work experiences and professional mentors right here in Rhode Island will build their skillsets for good paying jobs, which will in turn enable our businesses to thrive.”

The PrepareRI Internship program fits into the state’s overall Prepare Rhode Island initiative on career readiness. Rhode Island was one of only 10 states to receive a New Skills for Youth grant from JPMorgan Chase and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) to support career education for all youth.

For employers, the PrepareRI Internship program responds to concerns about the lack of skilled talent by building a pipeline of young, diverse, skilled workers who can keep RI’s future economy vibrant and strong. More than 20 employers have signed on to the effort, including Citizens Bank, Amgen, Hasbro, CVS, and Gilbane.

Tom Giordano, Executive Director of The Partnership for Rhode Island, a coalition of Rhode Island business leaders commented, “The Partnership for Rhode Island is excited to host high school interns in our companies across the state and support their attainment of college credit. This program strengthens our state’s talent pipeline and gives high school students the type of professional experience that is usually reserved for budding college graduates. We applaud the Governor, the GWB and Roger Williams University for their ingenuity and hard work in developing this program and look forward to helping shape the next generation of young professionals.”

This program is a win for employers and students across Rhode Island. At Citizens Bank, we look forward to providing high school students with positive and stimulating learning experiences this summer.  We are proud to be a champion employer in the PrepareRI Internship program and introduce young people to career opportunities in the state and at our company. – Barbara Cottam Executive Vice President and Head of Corporate Affairs, Citizens Bank

SkillsRI will work with employers to develop job descriptions and identify essential skills; and will vet, assess, and match student applicants to internships based on interests, required skills, and location. SkillsRI will prepare students for their work experiences through a week-long professional training on essential skills and expectations of the workplace. Additionally, SkillsRI will provide ongoing support to students and employer supervisors throughout the summer to ensure that all participants have a successful experience.

“As an organization with a proven record of demand-driven workforce solutions, the PrepareRI Internship program was a natural fit for SkillsRI.  We are committed to building out career pathways for Rhode Islanders to strengthen our workforce and satisfy the needs of our employers,” said Nina Pande, Executive Director of Skills for Rhode Island’s Future.

The PrepareRI Internship program is open to all rising high school seniors in public high schools in Rhode Island. Applications must be completed online and are due April 15. After a week-long preparation training, student interns will work directly with employers for six to eight weeks, 25-35 hours per week. Interns will be paid for all hours worked.

For more information and a link to the student application, visit:

https://www.prepare-ri.org/internships/

Statement from the Governor’s Office

 

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Governor Gina M. Raimondo today released the following statement on Rhode Island’s latest jobs and unemployment data.

“Today’s report reinforces the need to remain tirelessly focused on building a strong and innovative 21st century economy by investing in the skills of our people and the competitiveness of our employers. Just yesterday, we launched Skills for Rhode Island’s Future, a model based on the success of Skills for Chicagoland’s Future, which will make direct connections between the workers we are training and the businesses that are hiring.

“Participating employers, including Electric Boat, CVS Health, and Bank of America, have already committed to hire 150 unemployed workers through this initiative, and I encourage all Rhode Island employers to join them. The more employers who sign up, the more unemployed Rhode Islanders will get back to work and onto promising career pathways at quality companies. This is the type of collaboration we need to keep growing our economy.”

Read More: Governor’s Website