Participants in RINLA’s Growing Futures Career Catalyst Pre-Apprenticeship program at work in the state’s Arcadia Management Area.
Over the course of seven years, KK&P supported Rhode Island’s leading trade association for green industries in designing, implementing, and growing a comprehensive portfolio of workforce programs. KK&P’s work with the Rhode Island Nursery and Landscape Association (RINLA) began with a research engagement, focused on development of a career pathways map, based on federal data, an employer survey, and interviews. The KK&P team then translated that research into a detailed 5 year comprehensive plan that addressed not just workforce programming but also the ecosystem of contexts– from policy to organizational strength– that would position the program to succeed, for job seekers, employers, and the industry at large.
KK&P project managed the implementation of all elements of that plan in close collaboration with the organization’s leadership and team. KK&P provided strategic direction, facilitation, recruiting for new staff positions, program design, and team coordination to launch and grow Growing Futures. That suite of programs expanded to include several multi-employer, multi-tiered, multi-year Registered Apprenticeship programs; development of an interdisciplinary Associate’s Degree at the Community College of RI- Environment, Sustainability, and Mangent- targeted to the region’s plant-based industries; and a Civilian Conservation Corps-inspired, 5-week Pre-Apprenticeship training program (including a public-private partnership that put people to work contributing public lands management).
View the Growing Futures program website here.
View RINLA’s overview of the Environment, Sustainability, and Management degree here.