Enhancing Workforce Development and Postsecondary Education

• Passed a $160.5-million higher education facilities bond on the November 2024 ballot to provide college students with the cutting-edge technology and classrooms they need to compete in the 21st-century workforce. The bond offers $87.5 million to build the University of Rhode Island (URI) Life Sciences Building and $73 million to support the Rhode Island College (RIC) Institute for Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies.

• Established the Hope Scholarship Pilot Program at RIC, a last-dollar tuition and mandatory fee scholarship for in-state students during their third and fourth year at RIC. The Hope Scholarship offers another pathway to quality, affordable postsecondary education to students. The FY 2025 enacted budget accepted Governor McKee’s proposal to extend this program until 2030.
  • In the 2024-2025 academic year, 406 students were eligible for the Hope Scholarship. Of those, 402 received Hope funds. The remaining 4 had enough other financial aid to not need Hope funds. It is projected that there will be between 563-583 Hope Scholars in academic year 2025-2026.
• Founded the Institute for Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies at RIC in 2023, providing certificate, bachelor’s, and master’s level courses with a focus on research and developing highly skilled cybersecurity professionals.
• Signed legislation making the RI Promise Scholarship program permanent. The program provides free tuition to CCRI for all Rhode Island full-time students who graduated from high school before starting their postsecondary education at CCRI. Since its inception as a pilot program in 2017, Promise Scholarships have been awarded to 18,928 students, with 2,099 of those scholarships awarded to students starting in the most current semester, fall 2025.
• Created the Fresh Start Scholarship at CCRI, providing scholarships to Rhode Island residents who previously attended CCRI and have not yet earned an associate degree.
• Trained more than 7,600 Rhode Islanders in FY 2025 through the state’s premier sector-based workforce development initiative, Real Jobs RI program, serving over 4,300 job seekers and 2,700 incumbent workers and business owners, Real Jobs RI produced 77 percent employment rate of job seekers upon program completion.
• Increased funding by $8 million over three years in FY 2024 for the RI Reconnect program to improve postsecondary degree and credential attainment among underserved, working-age Rhode Islanders. Staff known as Educational Navigators work with adult residents to address barriers to education and workforce training completion and help them navigate changing careers, learning a new trade, or getting on the path to a degree or certificate.
  • Assisted, through RI Reconnect, more than 4,470 participants enrolled in workforce training programs, supporting over 3,500 individuals in persisting toward certification, providing assistance to more than 1,300 degree-seeking students, and contributing to 185 graduates to date—serving over 5,800 participants overall.

• Secured a $4.2 million competitive Registered Apprenticeship Grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to expand work-based learning opportunities over a three-year period (July 2025–June 2028), advancing our Rhode to Prosperity goals.
• Launched the Rhode Island Registered Apprenticeship Program for Principals (RIRAPP)—one of the first in the nation—to expand the pipeline of qualified school leaders. Developed by RIDE in partnership with the Center for Leadership and Educational Equity, the program offers aspiring principals a hands-on, earn-while-you-learn pathway to school leadership in response to the national shortage of building-level administrators.
• Continued to invest in Building Futures: Building Green Futures program, a pre-apprenticeship program to prepare young adults with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in registered apprenticeships in green and plant-based industries, construction, and beyond. Upon graduation, participants have the opportunity to seek employment in these industries or participate in Building Futures’ construction pre-apprenticeship program.
• Expanded access to high-quality career exploration opportunities for youth and young adults through the Governor’s Workforce Board’s Career Exploration Equity Grant program, awarding 37 grants totaling $109,277 to public schools, charter schools, and community-based organizations as of December 2025 to support STEM activities, college and training facility visits, internships, and related initiatives.
• Launched the Environmental Management Fellows Program (EMFP) in partnership with RI Department of Environmental Management (DEM), University of Rhode Island (URI), and CCRI to create experiential learning, professional development, and career pathway opportunities for students in environmental management, with mentor recruitment underway and student placement beginning in the fall.

• Created over 36,000 private sector jobs, with many more in the pipeline, since the start of Governor McKee’s Administration, including major expansions at Fidelity in Smithfield, Amazon in Johnston, Breeze Airways in Warwick, Regent in North Kingstown, Organogenesis in Smithfield, Anduril in North Kingstown, Blount Fine Foods in Warren, Vatn Systems in Bristol, Norpak in South Kingstown, and Flux Marine in Bristol.
• Reached the milestone of having over 15,000 jobs at the Quonset Business Park
• Achieved the highest monthly job count recorded in Rhode Island history in April 2025, with total nonfarm employment reaching 515,800 jobs—an increase of 4,100 jobs compared to April 2024.
• Strengthened Rhode Island’s labor market in September 2025, as jobs at Rhode Island businesses increased by 400 and the unemployment rate fell to 4.5 percent. Total nonfarm jobs reached 514,700 — up 2,700 from September 2024 — with private-sector employment increasing by 2,400 over the year. The state’s labor force held strong at 589,800, while key growth sectors included Government (up 400), Arts, Entertainment & Recreation (up 400), Health Care & Social Assistance (up 400), and Accommodation & Food Services (up 400).
• Launched a public-facing Health Workforce Data Dashboard in 2025 that integrates licensure data from the Rhode Island Department of Health with wage data from the RI Department of Labor and Training, providing greater transparency into the composition and characteristics of Rhode Island’s licensed health care workforce; the dashboard has received national recognition and has been featured in publications, podcasts, and conferences.
• Implemented 401 Works, an innovative initiative that allowed unemployment recipients to earn more and keep more of their benefits while returning to work part-time. The program, which was implemented to help Rhode Islanders recover from the pandemic, effectively keeps more people connected to the workforce, so they rely less on benefits and exit unemployment faster.
• Hosted more than 42 job fairs with 116 different employers and served more than 3,800 new job seekers in 2025.
• Leveraged the new Non-Trade Apprenticeship Expansion Grant program to support the expansion of Non-Trade/Non-Traditional Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs) that meet the standards of apprenticeship. In 2025, grants were awarded to 

• the Rhode Island Community Foundation to develop a registered apprenticeship program for out-of-school time providers, the Rhode Island College Foundation to develop a registered apprenticeship program in Information Security, and the Rhode Island Health Center Association to develop a registered apprenticeship program for Dental Assistants.
• Promoted employment and economic opportunity for individuals with disabilities through the Governor’s Workforce Board’s Workplace Accessibility Grant Program, awarding $34,076 in 2025 to 12 employers to support workplace accessibility improvements.
• Established a partnership between the DEM and Skills for RI’s Future to form the Rising Environmental Leaders program, bringing high school students into DEM for a summer program to learn about career and professional opportunities in environmental protection and natural resource stewardship.
• Reached Rhode Island’s lowest unemployment rate on record of 2.6 percent in May and June 2023. Rhode Island recovered all the jobs lost since the February 2020 pandemic peak in December of 2023. In July 2024, the state’s labor force reached its highest level on record, at 592,100. In April 2025, the state reached a high count of 515,800 jobs.
• Created and dedicated funding for the Office of Community Engagement (OCE) at DLT, which leads the agency’s strategy to be a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization and to deliver services in partnership with community. Through its Community Engagement Partners Initiative, OCE convenes a paid advisory network of more than 30 community-based organizations that provide ongoing input on how unemployment insurance, TDI, workforce, and training programs can better reach and serve historically marginalized Rhode Islanders. The office has driven concrete improvements such as translated and plain-language UI/TDI materials, community-based navigation supports, and stronger linkages between Real Jobs RI training providers and frontline community groups, while also standardizing language-access supports and tools for staff.