A program to train 350 people to fill high tech jobs in Rhode Island is announced Monday. Photo by Steve Klamkin WPRO News

By Steve Klamkin WPRO News

Rhode Island has received a $7.5 million federal grant to help train 350 workers, needed to fill a so-called skills gap in high tech companies throughout the state.

Workforce Solutions of Providence and Cranston and The Workforce Partnership of Greater Rhode Island are teaming with Tech Collective, the technology industry association in Rhode Island. Over four years, they will develop what they call a “job training pipeline for middle and high-skill” job placements in the information technology field.

“It has the potential to improve our economy dramatically, and put back to work many Rhode Islanders who have been looking for jobs, or are looking for advancement for many, many months now,” said Sen. Jack Reed.

Tech Collective Executive Director Kathie Shields said member companies are in need of hundreds of technology-related jobs.

“They need individuals to fill their jobs so that they can grow their companies,” Shields said.

“If we don’t have those people here in our workforce pool trained, we’re not serving them to grow our own economy,” she said.

Many of the high tech jobs pay well said Shields, and Robert Ricci, Executive Director of the Providence/Cranston Workforce Investment Board.

“We’ve just done a training with the Tech Collective which had tremendous results and an average salary of $60,000. We see these jobs growing twice as fast as any other job in the state of Rhode Island. That’s the forecast,” he said.

“There are openings going unfilled, so this is going to be a tremendous boost,” Ricci said.