Rhode Island: State of the State

 

ESAC Rhode Island State Report

The Rhode Island Apprenticeship Office is the state registration agency fulfilling state responsibilities under the USDOL Registered Apprenticeship System and is part of the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training’s (DLT) Division of Professional Regulation. The Apprenticeship Office has 2.5 FTE ₋ state director, Apprenticeship and Training Representative (ATR), and part time Implementation Aide. Through the US Department of Labor State Apprenticeship Expansion Formula (SAEF) and State Apprenticeship Expansion, Equity, and Innovation (SAEEI) grants, DLT funds a full time Apprenticeship Liaison in the Division of Workforce Development and a team at not-for-profit organization Building Futures. Building Futures is in its eighth year as the state’s apprenticeship intermediary, through which it works to expand the registered apprenticeship model across non-traditional industries and strengthen the apprenticeship system.

Rhode Island has multiple initiatives aimed at 1) registered apprenticeship expansion, and 2) registered apprenticeship program quality and access. In 2024, Building Futures was awarded a competitive Apprenticeship Building America 2 (ABA2) grant from USDOL to formally establish its role as Rhode Island’s Registered Apprenticeship Hub. In its role as the state’s Hub, Building Futures is partnering with DLT to expand the use of registered apprenticeship in the public sector, education, and energy-related occupations, while continuing to make apprenticeship system-wide improvements and provide technical assistance to prospective and current sponsors. Building Futures’ ABA2 efforts have seen early success, with joint trade registered apprenticeship programs providing new energy-related certifications to over 100 apprentices, and with existing apprenticeships expanding with several new employers. For example, RI Department of Human Service’s Early Childhood Educator apprenticeship added ten (10) new employers through ABA2, facilitating access to registered apprenticeship-driven career growth for dozens more childcare workers.

Efforts in 2024 also focused on improving resources for program sponsors, including creating a best practice guide for registered apprenticeship program sponsors. The guide currently consists of 29/30 implementation guidance and will be further developed in 2025. Furthermore, system-wide feedback surveys for apprentices and sponsors/participating employers were disseminated in Fall 2024. The results demonstrate the strength of the Rhode Island apprenticeship system; for example, 91% of apprentices would recommend registered apprenticeship career pathways to others, and the majority of employers/sponsors noted improvements in recruitment, retention, and quality of work due to the implementation of registered apprenticeship. The vast majority of employers/sponsors reported satisfaction with the quality of technical assistance provided by Apprenticeship Office and Building Futures staff (87% for non-trade sponsors/employers, 79% for trade sponsors/employers). Results and analysis will inform adjustments to fill gaps in program provision and service.

Pre-apprenticeship programming is the most effective strategy for reaching underutilized populations through registered apprenticeship. Rhode Island’s process for certifying pre-apprenticeship programs has been in place for over a year. In order to be certified as a pre-apprenticeship, programs must have established a relationship with at least one registered apprenticeship sponsor with the aim of placing participants in employment therein upon program completion. We are committed to tracking pre-apprenticeship participation with minimal burdens on the Apprenticeship Office. Our solution is to work with pre-apprenticeship providers and partner sponsors to make sure participation in pre-apprenticeship is recorded in RAPIDS upon registration.

Presently there are pre-apprenticeship programs operating in landscaping, community health work, childcare, and the building trades. In the building trades, all pre-apprenticeships are implementing the North American Building Trades Unions’ Multi‐Craft Core Curriculum. Building Futures’ community-based construction pre-apprenticeship, “BF200,” continued to be recognized as the gold standard for programs of its kind, and has now placed 444 individuals in family-sustaining registered apprenticeship employment. In 2023, Building Futures expanded its construction pre-apprenticeship by implementing an apprenticeship readiness program “behind the walls” at the Rhode Island Department of Corrections’ men’s minimum security facility. The first program of its kind in Rhode Island, “Building Futures Inside” has now graduated 31 individuals and is slated to expand to medium security in the coming year.

Rhode Island is on the leading edge of integrating mental health and recovery supports into registered apprenticeship, particularly in joint building trades registered apprenticeship programs. In 2024, Building Futures’ Recovery Program performed 23 visits to major jobsites through which 1,250 workers were reached, trained dozens of tradespeople as recovery peers or allies, and provided clinical supports as needed.

Rhode Island continues to measure and improve license attainment rates in the licensed trades. Observing that the gap between apprenticeship completion and license test scheduling averaged six months, we worked closely with the Division of Professional Regulation’s trade licensing arm to streamline the process. For relevant trades, signing up for a required license exam is now seamlessly integrated into the apprenticeship completion process. Rhode Island has also instituted a “testing card” system whereby completed apprentices receive a short-window to test. The Apprenticeship Office continues communications with major education providers to confirm whether their students are registered apprentices and to provide them feedback on license exam pass rates.

 

Apprenticeship Statistics (Year 2024)

• 2,419 Active Apprentices: 2,043 in the building trades and 376 in non-trade programs, as of the close of 2024
• 596 Active Sponsors: 565 in building trades and 31 in non-trade programs, as of the close of 2024
• 1,096 New Apprentices started: 884 in the building trades and 301 in non-trade programs processed by the Apprenticeship Office in 2024
• 480 Apprentices completed, processed by the Apprenticeship Office in 2024
• 70 New Sponsors registered, processed by the Apprenticeship Office in 2024

State Apprenticeship Council

The 11-member Rhode Island Apprenticeship Council meets 10 times a year. The Departments of Education and Labor & Training have permanent ex-officio seats. The Council includes building trade as well as non-trade employers. The State Apprenticeship Council reviews new programs and makes a recommendation to the DLT Apprenticeship Office as to whether they merit approval. The highly-engaged Council has been key to driving continuous improvement.

Workforce Partnerships

The DLT’s Apprenticeship Liaison continues to promote WIOA supports to employers and stands by them each step of the process. Desk references and policies have been updated to address on-the-ground realities of making these services work for apprenticeship.

A total of thirty-eight (38) Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs) have been added to the Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL), including Rhode Island’s first cybersecurity RAP. Workforce System Apprentice Liaison met with American Job Center coaches to review procedures for connecting job seekers with apprenticeship and qualifying apprentices for WIOA resources.

In July 2023, Governor McKee signed a bill into law mandating that public postsecondary institutions to identify degrees achievable through apprenticeship and establish corresponding pathways. Since then, Building Futures has supported postsecondary institutions in refining policies in alignment with this legislation.

In collaboration with DLT’s Workforce Development Division, the Apprenticeship Office and Building Futures analyzed co-enrollment between Registered Apprenticeship and WIOA. The team is working with this data to learn how to capture more of our co-enrollment. The Workforce Development Division of DLT has chosen to purchase software from GeoSol to connect RAPIDS data to EmployRI, our WIOA reporting system.

Legislative Issues

In 2024, a bill was passed to amend the state’s apprenticeship laws to make them more consistent with applicable federal regulations and make said laws more comprehendible and consistent with each other. Another bill passed to support a registered apprenticeship pathway to licensure for opticians. The Apprenticeship Office and its partners are supporting implementation of these recently passed bills.

Budget

Core funding and FTE for the Apprenticeship Office is supplemented directly by two federal sources: USDOL grants State Apprenticeship Expansion Formula (SAEF) and State Apprenticeship Expansion, Equity, and Innovation (SAEEI). Building Futures leverages USDOL Apprenticeship Building America 2 funds to accomplish state apprenticeship intermediary activities.