Skills for Rhode Island's Future | Jobs in Rhode Island

SkillsRI offers job search support, career enhancement services, and free training program opportunities to unemployed and underemployed Rhode Island residents.

RI Lt. Governor Matos, Senator DePalma, Commissioner Shannon Gilkey, Representative Filippi and Local Leaders Speak to High School Students on Courageous Leadership and Confidence at RIC

As part of the 2022 PrepareRI internship program, SkillsRI is hosting two panel discussions with government officials and company executives to share their leadership lessons with students.

PROVIDENCE, RI – June 27, 2022 – Skills for Rhode Island’s Future (www.skillsforri.com), the statewide workforce intermediary and organizer of the PrepareRI high school internship program, is hosting two exciting, first-of-its-kind panel discussions on leadership for high school interns featuring government officials and executives across leading Rhode Island companies. The panel discussions, taking place Tuesday, June 28 and Thursday, June 30, will be held at Rhode Island College as part of the internship program’s “Bootcamp” week aimed at equipping interns with the critical professional skills needed to successfully navigate the workplace.  

Since 2017, PrepareRI has placed over 1,700 Rhode Island public high school students into paid, career-aligned internships with employers across the state. With a focus on supporting students from underserved communities, the internship program aims to provide equitable access to experiential career learning opportunities for all Rhode Island students. This year, 225 students will return to in-person internships across 80 participating employers, including Amgen, United Way, Walgreens, Citizens Bank and more, after two years of virtual programming.  

Prior to getting placed with an employer, students undergo a rigorous week of “Bootcamp” that includes professional development workshops, panel discussions and activities to both inspire students and provide them with the tactical skills to succeed in their internships. This year’s themes for the week include community, confidence, courage, career and connection. 

The first leadership panel, taking place Tuesday, June 28 from 1:30pm to 2:45pm will focus on building career confidence. Participating panelists include: 

  • Dr. Ara Millette, Director of Talent Acquisition and Workforce Development at Lifespan 
  • Hugh Clements, Chief of Police at the City of Providence 
  • Rick Metters, Vice President at Fidelity Investments 
  • Weaynnoh Nelson-Davies, Executive Director at RI Economic Progress Institute 
  • Arnell Millhouse, CEO of Career Devs 

The second leadership panel, taking place Thursday, June 20 from 1:30pm to 2:45pm will focus on courageous leadership in the face of conflict. Participating panelists include: 

  • The Honorable Sabina Matos, Rhode Island Lieutenant Governor 
  • The Honorable Lou DiPalma, Rhode Island State Senator 
  • The Honorable Blake Filippi, Rhode Island State Representative 
  • The Honorable Jorge Elorza, Mayor, City of Providence 
  • The Honorable Roberto “Bob” DaSilva, Mayor, City of East Providence 
  • The Honorable Maria Rivera, Mayor, City of Central Falls 
  • Shannon Gilkey, Rhode Island Commissioner of Post-Secondary Education 

The PrepareRI Internship Program is generously funded by the Governor’s Workforce Board, American Student Assistance, the Rhode Island Department of Education, Bank of America and the City of Providence. Program partners include Advancing Workplace Excellence (AWE), Financial Literacy Youth Intiative, Leadership Rhode Island (LRI) and Rhode Island College (RIC). For more information, visit skillsforri.com/welcome-to-prepareri. 

### 

About PrepareRI 

PrepareRI is a statewide initiative designed to prepare all Rhode Island students with the skills they need for jobs that pay. The PrepareRI Internship Program provides students opportunities to explore careers via workplace learning experiences through paid summer internships. It represents a strategic partnership between the Rhode Island government, private industry leaders, the public education system, universities, and non-profits across the state. For more information, visit skillsforri.com/welcome-to-prepareri.  

About Skills for Rhode Island’s Future 

Skills for Rhode Island’s Future (SkillsRI) is a nonprofit organization that breaks down barriers to economic opportunity by connecting unemployed and underemployed Rhode Islanders to jobs with socially responsible, civic-minded employers. As the statewide, demand-driven workforce intermediary, SkillsRI works to close the workforce skills gap in RI, drive business growth, and move unemployed/underemployed Rhode Islanders into open positions. For more information, visit www.skillsforri.com.

Simone A. – PrepareRI Stories

Simone Alvares
2021 PrepareRI College Intern

I am a senior Biology major and Art minor at Providence College. I applied to PrepareRI and was given the opportunity to work for Amgen Rhode Island, a biotech company with a mission to serve patients. I had stressed to PrepareRI during the interview process that I truthfully did not know where I see myself in the next few years. They placed me where they saw me best fit. And now, I have been given the opportunity to go back to Amgen as soon as I graduate to work as a leader in their 2-year rotational program. PrepareRI gave me the amazing opportunity to work for Amgen and find my true passion in the biotech field. I would not have been given this awesome opportunity without the help of PrepareRI’s Internship Program. I will forever be thankful.

Learn More About PrepareRI College

Work-Based Learning Navigator Connects RI Students to Year-Round, Career Readiness Opportunities

Developed through a generous partnership with Fidelity Investments and Partnership for Rhode Island, the free online portal will match educators with Rhode Island employers to bring career learning into the classroom.

Skills for Rhode Island’s Future (SkillsRI)–the nonprofit organization that connects unemployed and underemployed Rhode Islanders to job opportunities and sustainable career pathways–today announced the launch of the PrepareRI Work-Based Learning (WBL) Navigator in collaboration with the Governor’s Workforce Board (GWB) and Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE). The free, online portal is designed to connect Rhode Island public and charter school students to year-round, meaningful work-based learning and career exploration opportunities in the classroom that will equip them with the skills needed to thrive in the workplace.

The WBL Navigator tool was built through a generous partnership with Fidelity Investments and Partnership for Rhode Island.

“Through our work with the PrepareRI high school and college internship programs, we’ve seen first-hand how work-based learning can help us fight inequities and ensure that every student has access to resources that will help them succeed in their careers.” said Nina Pande, Executive Director at SkillsRI.  The new PrepareRI WBL Navigator will help us expand on our work to bring hands-on career learning activities into the classroom, effectively breaking down barriers and paving stronger career pathways for our future workforce.”

“Fidelity Investments is committed to making a difference in the lives of school-age children and teachers in the communities where we work and live by sharing our experience and resources to help deliver financial literacy programming, curriculum and activities, and the Navigator is the perfect extension of those efforts,” said Rick Metters, Head of Government Relations and Public Affairs in Rhode Island. “We were happy to work with Partnership for Rhode Island, the GWB and RIDE to develop a tool that delivers learning modules to increase knowledge and skill.”

In addition to the development of the Navigator, Fidelity Investments also recently partnered with SkillsRI–a nonprofit organization that connects unemployed and underemployed Rhode Islanders to job opportunities and sustainable career pathways–to recruit Rhode Islanders for a variety of entry-level positions in client services. As part of this initiative, Fidelity is committed to helping Rhode Islanders gain valuable experience, personal and professional growth and strong mentorship in the financial services industry.

Using the new PrepareRI WBL Navigator, Rhode Island employers can post virtual or in-person work-based learning and career exploration opportunities, called “resources,” and educators can search, browse and request resources based on their need. Skills for Rhode Island’s Future then serves as the intermediary that matches educator requests with relevant resources for their students.

Resources on the Navigator will include:

Career Exploration Resources

  • Career Fairs
  • Career Panels
  • Guest Speakers
  • Employer Advisor for CTE Programs
  • Mentorships
  • Job Shadows
  • Workplace Tours

Work-Based Learning Resources

  • Academic Year Internships
  • Employer or Industry-Specific Projects
  • Service-Learning Opportunities
  • Summer Internships
  • Teacher Externships
  • Work Readiness Career Enhancement Workshops

Resources organized and provided through the PrepareRI WBL Navigator can also be applied to the state’s requirement of 80 work-based learning hours for students.

“The need for work-based learning has never been more important,” said Scott Jensen, Director of Rhode Island’s Department of Labor and Training. “Our youth are entering a rapidly-transforming workforce, where new fields and ways of work are emerging. The Navigator will be a critical tool in bringing together the education, business and workforce development communities to connect the dots between traditional education and the current workforce for students as they build their vision for the future.”

“This incredible program will help connect our students and teachers with our business community and leaders,” said Commissioner of Education Angélica Infante-Green. “The skills built and experiences provided by these work-based learning opportunities will help prepare students for career pathways in their future. We’re excited for the launch of this innovative and collaborative tool for our schools.”

The PrepareRI WBL Navigator will be piloted with a select group of employers and educators starting today, and will roll out to all Rhode Island employers and educators in the new year.

“We are very excited to launch the Navigator pilot,” said Tom Giordano, Executive Director of Partnership for Rhode Island, a nonprofit coalition of Rhode Island’s leading business executives. “This platform will provide valuable and unique work-based learning opportunities across the state resulting in hundreds of hours of interactions between professionals, teachers and their students. This type of collaboration is what builds the workforce of the future. “

Employers and educators can sign up on the PrepareRI Work-Based Learning Navigator at www.riwblnavigator.com. For more information and to speak with a Skills for Rhode Island’s Future team member, visit www.skillsforri.com/navigator.

Jackson Kustell – PrepareRI Intern

Jackson Kustell
Jackson was an intern in PrepareRI's summer internship program, the COVID-19 Innovation Challenge. Jackson reflects on his experience over the summer.

Tell me about your experience with the PrepareRI internship program.

I had a spectacular experience with PrepareRI. I’ll admit, I was a little bit concerned when I heard that it would be transitioning to an online model, but those concerns evaporated on day one. I am really impressed with how the PrepareRI team managed to do a complete 180 so fast under such short notice. For me the Internship was a beautiful blend of work experience through exposure to real corporations and real problems and of character development though mentorships, reflection, and daily seminars in everything from “Falling Forwards” to Creativity. PrepareRI is so much more than just a summer job, it’s a program that gives you skills and tools to forge a better future.

How has the PrepareRI program impacted your life?

The COVID-19 Innovation Challenge completely changed my outlook on teamwork. I went in as the type of person who would try to do all of the work myself. However, working in such a large group on such complex problems showed me that I couldn’t achieve goals just by powering through the work myself (as I have done in some school projects in the past). I’m really thankful that I had the chance to learn this now through PrepareRI instead of later, so that when I join the workforce I’ll be able to start things off with a more team oriented mindset right from the get-go.

Do you have a favorite moment from the program?

I had so many great experiences over the internship that it’s incredibly hard to pick only one, but if I had to pick one, it would be when we gave our final presentation as a team. Even though we didn’t end up winning the competition, to see all of our hard work come together in the end, something that we had researched, designed, and prototyped, was incredibly cool!

What do you think are the biggest benefits of PrepareRI compared to other internships or career learning programs in schools?

I’d say the biggest benefit of PrepareRI is that it’s the whole package all in one. It’s not just an internship. Through PrepareRI I had deep insight into Amgen and formed real connections with some of its members. I learned about leadership, building brand, public speaking, adaptability through seminars and discussions and then had the chance to apply what I learned in a safe environment. I learned how to work with my peers through the student corporation. I had the opportunity to create something unique, and to present in a real pitch environment. PrepareRI isn’t just your average internship, it truly prepares you for your future.

Tell us about the network, connections, and/or friendships you've developed as part of this program.

I was starting to get really lonely last summer. The pandemic had shut down all of my normal paths of interaction. The internship gave me the opportunity to work with so many new people that I would have never met otherwise. And I’m thankful for the connection and friendships PrepareRI brought, especially in a time when we’re so isolated.
Learn More About PrepareRI

Rida Jawed – PrepareRI Intern

Rida Jawed
Rida was an intern in PrepareRI's summer internship program in both 2019 & 2020. Now attending Northeastern University, Rida reflects on her experiences with PrepareRI and how they helped support her education & career path.

Tell me about your experience with the PrepareRI internship program.

I did my first internship through PrepareRI at Dr. Day Care as a Social Media and Marketing Intern. It was an incredible experience and a great opportunity to learn more about the corporate world. I developed several technical skills as well as soft skills that helped me develop professionally and utilize those skills in other programs as well. I was then selected as a 2nd-year intern in the 2020 COVID-19 Challenge and I applied to be the CEO of my corporation. The second internship was absolutely extraordinary. I was working with a team of very talented people that worked incredibly hard resulting in Corporation 1 being the 2nd place and popular vote winner.

How has the PrepareRI program impacted your life?

PrepareRI has really helped me develop skills that I don’t get to develop at school. Working with a team and managing a corporation as the CEO was an incredible learning experience in terms of leadership and team-work. I have also built amazing relationships with my co-workers, mentors, and supervisors.

Do you have a favorite moment from the program?

My corporation decided to host a 1-day virtual summit to promote careers in the offshore wind industry. Minutes before we out summit started, our team came on a Zoom call reflecting on how much we had achieved in just 6 weeks. At the beginning of the 6 weeks, we really didn’t think we would be able to bring this idea to completion but at that moment we were so proud of ourselves that we were able to host a summit with 3 panelists and 40+ participants including students and teachers from all across RI.

What do you think are the biggest benefits of PrepareRI compared to other internships or career learning programs in schools?

PrepareRI, compared to other career learning programs, provides immense opportunity for students to develop skills that will benefit them and others in the long run. Often, career learning programs are a few weeks long and the learning pretty much ends at the end of those weeks. PrepareRI helps you develop a professional, learning mindset that will be forever helpful in the future. To summarize, PrepareRI, instead of giving a man a fish and feeding him for a day, teaches a man to fish and feeds him for a lifetime.

Tell us about the network, connections, and/or friendships you've developed as part of this program.

Starting off the internship, I didn’t think I would build the friendships and connections that I did. I have built genuine relationships with my co-workers and mentors and we still talk to each other and help each other in different aspects of personal and professional life. The network is something I would have never been able to develop if I hadn’t been part of the PrepareRI Internship program.
Learn More About PrepareRI

More Information

Contact Information

30 Exchange Terrace
Providence, RI 02903
401-680-5960

Privacy

For information on how we collect and manage your data please see our Privacy Policy