Middletown is located on historic Aquidneck Island, between the communities of Newport and Portsmouth. Bounded by three bodies of water, Narragansett Bay on the west, the Sakonnet River on the east, and Rhode Island Sound on the south, Middletown is an ocean community with all the amenities of seaside living. Middletown's excellent highways and bridges place the community in a favorable location, and the town is easily accessible from nearby Massachusetts and local Rhode Island municipalities.

Historic Newport is adjacent to Middletown, providing many recreational activities. Middletown is an attractive location for both industry and residence. Middletown is semi-agricultural with a diverse landscape, delicate sand dunes broken up by a partially rocky coastline, and snow white beaches giving this community a seaside flair. Endless stone walls line the landscape contributing to the atmosphere of the town which is typically New England. Being practically surrounded by water, the influence of the sea on the town is inescapable.

There are marvelous fishing, boating, surfing and swimming facilities. The moderating effects of the ocean provides Middletown with mild winters while the cooling sea breezes limit the number of extremely hot summer days to perhaps a few a year. Middletown has excellent land available for industrial development, some of which overlook the Atlantic Ocean. The community's diverse labor force and convenient transportation facilities makes it an excellent location for business development. One of the most desirable aspects of Middletown, whether it be for business interest or residence, is its livability in the form of recreational and cultural activities.

 

Dear Business Leader: In a continued effort to better work with the business community in strengthening Rhode Island’s economy, we are reaching out to you today to ask for your assistance on a project that our departments are currently undertaking to better understand the challenges you face on retaining and recruiting qualified and prepared employees for your workforce. As you may know, the Governor’s Workforce Board recently established a Defense Industry Partnership in the State of Rhode Island.  The Partnership’s goal is to strengthen and expand the defense industry in Rhode Island through a collaboration of public and private efforts.  These efforts include fostering a better business climate for defense related companies to work and prosper. Additionally, the Partnership’s goal is to help to establish education and workforce development programs that will keep the defense industry competitive for years to come.   The Defense Industry Partnership is made up of SENEDIA (Southeastern New England Defense Industry Alliance), the Newport County Chamber of Commerce (NCCC), Middletown Economic Development Advisory Committee (MEDAC), and the Rhode Island College Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Program (STEM).   The Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC) and the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (RIDLT) are trying to assess the current state of our workforce and how to create better policy and programs that help your company succeed.  Conversely, we are looking at the Rhode Island worker and finding ways to make them more prepared for the changing and challenging economy.   In order to determine the workforce development needs of the defense industry, we urge your participation (and the participation of key workforce decision makers in your organization) in a web survey to identify skills gaps in defense companies throughout the State of Rhode Island.  This study is based on a proven methodology that will allow for a comprehensive picture of the skills development situation in the defense industry across all of its key segments.  The goals of this analysis are to identify areas within the industry that need to be addressed and then apply those findings to workforce development initiatives in the future. To access survey click here.   While we understand the limited time in your schedule, we know that your answers to this survey will significantly help with future public policy decisions when it comes to the defense related industries in Rhode Island.   The specific information from your questionnaire will not be made public.  Responses will be kept anonymous in terms of data collected; therefore, your entity’s identity will not be stated in the final report and will not be made public knowledge.      Thank you for your participation.   Keith W. Stokes                                                  Executive Director, RI Economic Development Charles J. Fogarty Director, RI Department of Labor & Training