Michael Gibson-Prugh ’22

Governor’s Workforce Board, Providence, RI

This summer I was a policy intern at the Governor’s Workforce Board in my home state of Rhode Island. The Board works to provide job training and work opportunities to individuals across the state, to set them on a path towards a rewarding career. The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) provides the framework for the majority of the policy passed by this body. This act is broad and covers the federal allotment of money towards programs as diverse as apprenticeships to working with non-profits for youth in foster care. The weight of this position quickly sunk in as my supervisor explained to me that their priorities are helping communities such as immigrants, low income families, and former convicts. Rhode Island experienced severe economic losses during the recession, and has recovered slower than other states, with continued deficiencies in education and employment. The knowledge that my work would have concrete impacts on the livelihoods of my fellow Rhode Islanders was daunting, but underscored the importance of the work and why I was drawn to it in the first place.

The atmosphere at the office was immediately welcoming and lively. I was met at the front door by my supervisor, who gave me a tour around the office and introduced me to everyone who were equally as eager to get to know me and help me achieve my goals at my internship. My work station was in a busy corner of the office, where I was able to talk casually with the youth coordinator and the policy director and I gleaned additional information from these conversations. I could not have asked for a better working environment, and the whole office went out to dinner together on a few occasions, so I was able to get to know my coworkers well. The Governor’s Workforce Board worked together well and fostered the sharing of information, and the general tone of the office was collaborative. At times, I noticed difficulties in coordinating the exchange of information between the Board and the Commerce Department or the Education Department, which showed the struggles with communication between entities even in a small state like Rhode Island.

I was fortunate to be able to attend many conferences and meetings with higher level Department of Labor officials. In these meetings I saw votes on adopting budgetary measures and other policies, and saw behind doors negotiating by officials. This was one of the most exciting parts about my internship, and showed me that I hope to be able to have a seat at the table in policy negotiations, beyond doing the research for the programs. These meetings were also where I learned the most about the importance of other departments in the process of crafting policy. I attended a meeting about data systems that demonstrated how gathering factual data is critical to having the information to make policy, and how the original system the state had was outdated, explaining the inconsistencies between the policy’s vision and execution.

The majority of the time at my internship was spent researching policies and finding the best practices in workforce development from other states. I did an extensive research project on apprenticeship programs, where I looked at policies from Massachusetts and Delaware that would be feasible to bring to Rhode Island. Another policy I looked into was Subsidized Work Experience. In this program, the state pays for the work experience of individuals who companies would not initially desire to train, such as long term unemployed people or those with physical or developmental disabilities. When researching this project, I thought of my uncle who lost several of his fingers in an accident, and how this program could have helped him get back on his feet much more easily. The human component of this work, and how each program would help hundreds of individuals earn their livelihood really inspired me, and in the future I want to be a part of creating policy or working to improve peoples’ lives.

The most significant part of my work this summer was how it dealt specifically with underprivileged communities. Often when a program is being created, success is the most prized goal, while many are left behind. The role of the Governor’s Workforce Board is to help all of those left behind, especially those lacking a high school education. During my time at my internship, a report came out about the Providence public school system, detailing the failings of the programs and how most students who graduated could not read at an eighth grade level. I was struck by how unprepared these young people would be to get a job in a market that requires more advanced skills. The role of my internship was to help these people establish themselves on a firm footing, and to help those who are not as fortunate as I am. In addition to the high school students, we focused on communities of color, especially immigrant communities where English is not the first language. Finally we worked to provide more access to programs for people with disabilities, where the state has a history of either forgetting these populations, or failing to provide accountability for the programs. The broad reach of the policies this Board enacts made me think about the importance of this role and how I want to continue to help the community in the future.

I came into this internship a blank slate about state government. I knew political science interested me and I was an avid reader of the news, but I didn’t know how impactful policies would be made at the state level. I learned the frustrations and successes that go along with this, and I feel I got an in depth view of the issues that affect so many lives, and the programs used to fix them such as WIOA. This internship has helped narrow my interests further in political science, but also has helped me discover I want to make a difference in underprivileged communities. I hope to take more classes in the coming semesters that deal with income inequality, educational disparities, and the mass incarceration system. I was so fortunate to participate in this internship as it has helped me greatly along my educational journey. I would like to thank Ms. Dellea and the ’68 Center for Career Exploration for all their help with the internship process. I would also like to sincerely thank the Estate of George Mead, as without his generosity this opportunity would not have been possible.