New Welding Program at JARC Fills a Community Need

After just a little more than a year in Rhode Island, the Jane Addams Resource Corporation (JARC) has added new workforce development programs to target the State’s unique needs. The new program — an introduction to welding — has already attracted plenty of interest. 

JARC, a longtime workforce development partner and Financial Opportunity Center® (FOC) in Chicago, expanded its partnership with LISC by opening a new location in Providence in late 2023. The Sims Avenue location now delivers job training in manufacturing and provides contextualized education and wrap-around services along with one-on-one financial and employment coaching that is the gold standard for FOC programs and represents best-practice service delivery for workforce development. They join long-term partners at Amos House and Genesis Center who have been providing the LISC model of workforce support for more than two decades.   

“There are other programs in the State that offer welding instruction, and they are overflowing all the time,” said Libby Lubera, Program Manager at JARC, “they're always working on a wait list.” 

The new welding fast track program provides instruction in key manufacturing techniques including becoming a Master Gas Metal Arc Welder (“GMAW” or “MIG”) through hands-on training and group instruction. 

“We've had folks from the Steel Yard reach out and ask us if we were going to add a welding program. Electric Boat does take a certain number of folks, but they have very strict qualifications,” said Lubera. "JARC is very open to giving folks multiple chances; and we work with folks who are involved in the justice system or folks who have low math literacy.” 

One of five new welding stations on the floor at JARC.

In addition to participating in LISC’s FOC program, the training facility is also an approved SNAP Employment and Training provider. SNAP E&T is a federally funded program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Services (FNS). It is administered by the Rhode Island Department of Human Services (DHS) in partnership with LISC Rhode Island. Residents over age 18 who receive SNAP benefits, and are not receiving RIW/TANF, are eligible to participate in a SNAP Employment and Training program and receive free training to support career development. There are currently 18 approved SNAP E&T providers in Rhode Island. 

According to Lubera, JARC follows the Sectoral Model of workforce development, which prepares job seekers for positions that employers need to fill today. This means that training programs are dynamic and can change and grow based on the employment demands and needs of trainees. In Rhode Island, JARC’s manufacturing training center originally opened with a focus on Computer Numerical Control (CNC), with a plan to expand to include robotics and 3D printing programs. Although robotics and 3D printing programs are still forthcoming, it became clear that more welding classes, a mainstay of JARC’s national programming, were also necessary to meet demand. 

“Our training methods were a good fit for the SNAP program,” said Lubera. “We take a holistic approach to students.” 

JARC's CNC program begins in the computer lab for training. Moving out to the floor, students first practice simple techniques with red wax (R) and work up to completing the program with an aluminum certification piece that showcases several techniques (L).

All SNAP E&T providers provide wraparound support to help participants get the most out of their training, including access to child care, free textbooks, and transportation assistance. At JARC, participants receive coaching on self-advocacy, communication, relationship-building, and problem-solving. In addition, as an FOC, JARC offers contextualized math classes to participants who require additional training.  

“A lot of people can be intimidated by math, but so much of it in manufacturing is very repetitive and you’re working with the same kinds of fractions, decimals, angles, all the time. You become more comfortable with it, so I always encourage people to give it a shot,” said Lubera. Students have standard classroom time to work on new mathematical skills, but they also have the opportunity to observe and form relationships with trainees on the floor to better understand how math fits into manufacturing. 

Because of these interlacing programs, JARC is able to approach students “from a place of ‘yes’” and “help folks with stuff that other programs can’t always help with,” explained Lubera.  

The Bridges classroom contains posters with equivalent shop fractions and guidelines for success for the students.

JARC allows individual trainees to adapt programming through their Open Entry/Open Exit model, which gives them the freedom to join courses at any time and take the material in the program at their own pace until they find a job or earn their certification. “The courses are designed as 20-week and 16-week programs, but we’ve had people who finished in three months, and we’ve had people who have been in it for almost a year,” Lubera said. “If they want to be here and they want to learn this, and maybe they’re just struggling a little bit, we’re not going to turn them away. It's an adult learning program, so we allow a lot of independence and flexibility. We like to say we have high empathy and high expectations.” 

The trainings have led to an 86% job placement rate. Those jobs can change the trajectory of an individual and a family’s life: “What a change in career can provide for your family is pretty amazing. So that’s what I really love about [JARC’s job training programs]...You can really support your family in these jobs — you can create a solid future for yourself,” Lubera said. In Rhode Island, welding jobs can pay between $22 and $24 an hour at the entry level, with variability depending on shifts and materials. CNC jobs can pay up to $26 an hour.  

To find out more about classes or becoming a SNAP E&T provider, visit risnapet.org.