EDITORIAL: This Crisis Is RI’s Opportunity to Reinvent Itself for the Future - 6 Must-Do Steps
Thursday, April 16, 2020
This cruel economic and healthcare crisis has exposed Rhode Island’s economic frailty. The state's economy has been overly dependent on low-paying, low-skill jobs in hospitality and retail for years.
Now is our opportunity to transform.
As of Wednesday, the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training data unveiled that more than 218,000 Rhode Islanders are out of a job.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTApproximately 40 percent of the workforce has filed for state and or federal benefits.
The coronavirus is not understood, there is no treatment, there is no vaccine and for some — it is deadly.
Approximately 100,000 Rhode Islanders worked in retail and hospitality before the crisis and the average compensation for those jobs was, on average, less than $25,000.
In contrast, according to the DLT, Rhode Island employs just 6,838 who work in Computer Systems Design & Related Services with an average salary of $91,481.
Many of those retail and hospitality jobs are simply not coming back. Many are not coming back if the economy is reopened in May or January or ever.
Now is our opportunity. This is our chance to seize the moment and recreate our new economy. Not incremental change, but dramatic change. There is no going back to the “normal.”
In 2019 and early 2020, retailers were closing at a record pace — before coronavirus devastated the industry. Many of Rhode Island’s restaurants will never recover — Bravo in Providence, Red Stripe in East Greenwich and others have already announced they will never re-open.
“This is the worst time ever. I mean, it's no exaggeration that we may have 30 percent or up to 50 percent of restaurants that will not be able to come back,” said restaurant leader Andy Shallal on PBS NewsHour this month.
It is time for Rhode Island to use our size to our advantage and change from being a hub for low-income jobs -- and radically transform ourselves.
Rhode Island needs to take action now to create a pathway to a more vibrant future, and re-educate and re-train our workforce with urgency and passion.
It is the opportunity to shed our failures, to transform our economy into the most prolific, focused and modern workforce in the country.
We must dispense with the “we're taking one day at a time” mindset and act quickly to revamp Rhode Island's thinking, training, and, thus, the economy.
Instead of being first into a recession and last out, we want to run right by recessions because we have a highly trained and dynamic workforce.
The coronavirus is a cruel taskmaster. It does not discriminate as it kills. Its legacy will change our behavior in the short run, but it is simply unclear what defines the short-term — weeks, months, a year? Harvard researchers are saying that for years we will need to be under restrictions — “intermittent social distancing may be necessary into 2022.”
Old ways of doing things must die for Rhode Island to succeed. Rhode Island cannot wait until the crisis is over — it may be months or years of upheaval and change.
Rhode Island leaders need to chew gum and run at the same time -- now.
Here are six critical steps:
1) Train an Army of Technologists — Expand CCRI, RIC and URI’s curriculums to offer a significant expansion to tech learning and training. Think it can't be done? Infosys is training CCRI students -- students who then start at $45,000 and full benefits. See jobs here.
2) Close Failed Public Schools —There simply will not be the resources to continue to prop up failed schools with poor outcomes. There will not be jobs for young people without skills. Send those students to better-performing schools around the state, charters and private schools. Think it can't be done? Thousands of students are learning remotely at the moment. Walls are no longer barriers. There is no more time for excuses and failed outcomes. Failed schools in Providence, Central Falls, Woonsocket, Pawtucket and cities and towns should never reopen.
3) Be the Robot Designer or be Replaced by the Robot — If you thought reports from McKinsey and warnings from experts like Darrell West of Brookings and presidential candidate Andrew Yang about the impact of technology on jobs was to going to take some time or be something "in the future," the reality is the future started in March. Artificial Intelligence will dominate and steal millions of jobs. Every employer is looking for tech solutions to compete and contribute to the bottom line. Headcount is no longer the indicator of economic strength and success. Size may be an indicator of waste, costs, and vulnerability. Companies across the globe are reinventing and survival is the watchword.
4) Revamp Manufacturing — To spawn the growth of manufacturing, at a minimum, require the state’s procurement to give a 25% preference for buying Rhode Island-made products. See the Rhode Island Manufacturers Association's David Chenevert talk about re-shoring here.
5} Shift Financial Resources — Auto sales and usage for the foreseeable 2-3 years will decline. CNBC reports, “'The coronavirus and its ripple effect on consumer demand could send global auto production down 16% in 2020, fueled partially by an expected 20% decline in U.S. sales,' according to RBC Capital Markets.” Business commuting and travel will decline as more workers work from home even after the restrictions are lifted. And, leisure travel will plummet until a vaccine or herd immunity is achieved — both estimated to be 18 months away or more. Shift these valuable resources. The state does not need to be building more hotels or office buildings -- there is a new reality. It will be years before there is a need for additional office space.
6) Become a Hub of Talent - The average tech job in Rhode Island pays nearly 3 times the average retail worker or hospitality worker. “The biggest players in tech are hoovering up talent in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic,” writes the Wall Street. Can it be done in Rhode Island? It must be done. There is no choice.
Monumental change will be forced by this disease. Global factors are at work and no state is operating in a vacuum, and there are new financial realities.
Rhode Island can lead and compete or sink into the abyss. It is our choice.
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- EDITORIAL: This Crisis Is RI’s Opportunity to Reinvent Itself for the Future - 6 Must-Do Steps
