Incumbent Worker Training funds (IWT) is being made available under provisions of the Workforce Innovations and Opportunity Act.  The Incumbent Worker Training (IWT) Program provides funding to help cover the costs of training needed to retain a competitive workforce. Such training is meant to assist with expansion, new technology, retooling, new services/product lines, and/or new organizational structuring, or to be used as part of a layoff aversion strategy. As a result, IWT is not intended to fund the periodic safety and refresher courses necessary for a business to continue to operate (i.e. First Aid, CPR, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration certifications) or the occupational training a new hire would need.

Incumbent Worker Training grants allow employers an opportunity to upgrade the skills of their current workforce through reimbursable training services and expenses. An eligible employer must be current on all South Carolina state tax obligations, have at least one full time employee, and document that potential trainees have an established employment history with the employer for six months or more. 

Training entities and city, county and state governments are not eligible for IWT funding. Businesses receiving services through ReadySC™ may be eligible for IWT so long as the training funded is not a duplication of services. IWT funds are not available to a business that has relocated, if that relocation resulted in the loss of jobs at the original location, until the company has operated at that new location for 120 days.

BUSINESS MATCH

Businesses/consortia participating in IWT are required to pay for the non-Federal share of the cost of providing training to their employees. The non-Federal share must not be less than:

• 10 percent of the costs for a business location with no more than 50 employees
• 25 percent of the costs for a business location with more than 50 employees, but no more than 100 employees
• 50 percent of the costs for a business location with more than 100 employees

IWT funds are awarded on a competitive basis.

APPLICATIONS ARE EVALUATED AS FOLLOWS:

1. Characteristics of the employees to be trained: Priority given to frontline staff
2. The relationship of the training to the competitiveness of both the employer and employee: Training allows the employer and/or employees to be competitive with comparable employers/employees in similar or related positions. Example a CDL Class A makes the employee competitive with others in similar or related positions.
3. Per Participant Cost: priority is given to those with a lower cost of training per employee
4. Credential and Skills gained as a result of the training: priority given to training that leads to a state or national certification such as NCCER
5. Training in one of the in-demand sectors in the Trident area: Diversified Manufacturing, Transportation, Distribution & logistics, HealthCare, Information Technology/Business Services, Construction, Hospitality & Tourism.
6. Employers Size: This is determined as the employer size defined in the application.
7. Small: no more than 50 employees
8. Medium: 51, but no more than 100 employees
9. Large: 101 or more

Please list training in the order of priority for your business because there are times that all training programs on an application may not be approved due to funding availability.

Please submit only one application per business. Please submit a training curriculum with the application.

The deadline for submission of the application is May 14, 2021 by 4:00 pm. Please submit applications to [email protected].

No reimbursements can be made for expenditures that occur before the agreement period. This includes ordering training, paying for training and/or beginning training, etc.

Contact Sharon Goss, Workforce Development Director, SC Works Trident, for more information and /or assistance with the application process at 843-529-2582 or via email at [email protected]. Visit our website at http://www.scworkstrident.org/ or http://www.bcdcog.com for information and a copy of the application.