Governor Gina Raimondo Attends New England Tech's SAMI 200 Jobs Celebration!









December 08, 2017

Governor Gina Raimondo Attends New England Tech's SAMI 200 Jobs Celebration!

Governor Gina Raimondo Attends Ceremony at New England Institute of Technology Marking the Hiring of 200 Machinists by RI Manufacturers 
 
EAST GREENWICH, RI – Governor Gina M. Raimondo joined the faculty, staff and students of New England Institute of Technology’s Shipbuilding/Marine and Advanced Manufacturing Institute (SAMI) at a celebration to commemorate the 200 students who have completed an intensive 300-hour machinist training program and have been hired by local manufacturing companies. Also attending today’s ceremony was Scott Jensen, Director of the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training.  Eleven students proudly received their certificates of completion with their new employers in attendance.
 
SAMI was developed through grants provided by the United States Department of Labor, the Governor’s Workforce Board of Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, the Rhode Island Foundation and the Champlin Foundations. SAMI’s goal is to train unemployed Rhode Islanders in the fields of advanced manufacturing and welding. Since the inception of the SAMI program in 2013, more than 200 machinists and 325 welders have acquired the technical skills needed by today’s high-tech manufacturers.
 
“New England Tech is one of our most important partners in the Rhode Island workforce development system,” said Governor Raimondo. “By preparing bright, motivated Rhode Islanders for good jobs and rewarding careers in advanced manufacturing and many other fields, NEIT has played a key role in cutting our state’s unemployment rate. Today, I’m excited to salute the graduates of NEIT’s rigorous SAMI program and the more than 100 Rhode Island employers that have hired 200 SAMI grads since 2013.”
 
Employers attending today’s ceremony included Applitek Technologies Corporation, BSM Pump Corporation, General Dynamics/Electric Boat, Guill Tool and Engineering Company, Inc., Lavigne Manufacturing, Inc., Mahr, Inc., McLellan and Page, Inc. and Porter Machine, Inc. More than 100 manufacturers from a wide range of industries have turned to SAMI for their hiring needs.
 
Other agencies that have contributed to the success of the SAMI program include the Rhode Island Manufacturers Association, R.I. Department of Labor and Training, netWORKRI American Job Centers, Workforce Partnership of Greater Rhode Island and Workforce Solutions of Providence/Cranston. 
 
For more information regarding the SAMI program, please visit www.SAMIri.org or contact Fred Santaniello, Director of Workforce Development Training Grants and Programs, at New England Tech at 401-739-5000 or email fsantaniello@neit.edu.
 

 
Under the leadership of President Richard I. Gouse, New England Institute of Technology is a private, non-profit technical university with an enrollment of more than 3,000 students and is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. Founded in 1940, the university offers associate, bachelor’s, master’s and online degree programs focusing on a proven combination of technical expertise coupled with hands-on learning. Visit www.neit.edu and follow news of the university on Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat and the New England Tech Blog.