B ECOM I NG A B U I LDER
Building a future in construction BY JENNIFER L. GRYBOWSKI | Contributing Writer
R.I. DEPARTMENT OF Labor and Training Director Scott Jensen says the decision by Gov. Gina M. Raimondo to allow the construction industry to remain open during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic was crucial to the industry. “If you don’t close, you don’t have a hard time starting back up,” Jensen said. It was also important to the overall economy in a state that saw its unemployment rate jump from 4.7% in March to 18.1% in April and 16.4% in May, according to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics. Even in August, the state’s 12.8% unemployment ranked second highest in the nation. 16
A Guide to
designed, made and built in Rhode Island 2020
TEAMWORK: Robert Tolson, left, Lisa Silvio and Kyle Brown, right, line up beams to be bolted as part of the ironworking segment of Building Futures’ five-week pre-apprenticeship in 2019. Participants construct a 70-foot-by-14-foot project that contains many of the tools, materials and techniques used in building steel structures. COURTESY BUILDING FUTURES
