Incumbent Worker Training

For more information or technical assistance questions about the program or application process, contact Kara Browder at 843-529-0400 Extension 223 or send an email to Kara at karab@bcdcog.com

PROGRAM GUIDELINES:

The Incumbent Worker Training (IWT) Program provides funding for training needed in current businesses due to: expansion, new technology, retooling, new services/product lines and new organizational structuring or as part of a layoff aversion strategy. IWT may also fund training in new businesses if those jobs are ineligible for assistance through ReadySC™, formerly the Center for Accelerated Technology Training (CATT). However, there will be a waiting period of 120 days for new or expanding businesses that displaced workers elsewhere in the United States. IWT is funded by the Federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA). Applications are open to all South Carolina businesses meeting the guidelines listed below.

BUSINESSES APPLYING FOR FUNDING MUST:

• Have at least one full-time employee

• Be current on all state tax obligations

THIRD PARTY BROKERS (CONSORTIA) APPLYING FOR FUNDING:

• May enter into IWT agreements on behalf of employers

• May include business associations, industry councils, chambers of commerce, downtown development corporations, etc.

• Cannot be involved in the training of the employees

• Cannot be reimbursed for administrative costs

Training entities and city, county and state governments are ineligible to receive Incumbent Worker Training Funds.

PRIORITY WILL BE GIVEN TO:

• Businesses/Consortia whose applications represent a significant upgrade in employee skills and/or employee wage increases as a result of training

• Businesses/Consortia whose applications represent a significant layoff avoidance strategy and provide retention opportunities

• Businesses/Consortia/Business sites who have not received an IWT agreement during the prior or current program year

TRAINING SERVICES:

• Can be provided through South Carolina’s technical colleges, school districts, area vocational-technical centers, state universities, Registered Apprenticeship programs, or licensed and certified private entities/institutions

• Can be conducted at the business’s own facility, at the training provider’s facility or at a combination of sites

• Can be taught by either full- or part-time educators or professional trainers from the business

Periodic/refresher safety courses cannot be funded.

REIMBURSABLE TRAINING EXPENSES:

• Instructor/trainer salaries

• Textbooks/manuals

• Consumable materials and supplies

NON-REIMBURSABLE COSTS:

• Administrative costs

• Trainee wages or travel

• Training equipment

• Capital improvements

• Curriculum Development

• Purchase of any item or service that may possibly be used outside of the training project (to include computer equipment and non-training related software)

• Costs incurred prior to the approval date of the application

• Administrative costs incurred by consortia