Incumbent Worker Training funds (IWT) are 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 as 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 competiveness of both the employer and employee: Training allows the employer and/or employees to be competitive with comparable employers/employees in similar are related positions.
3. Per Participant Cost: priority given to those with lower cost of training per employee
4. Credential and Skills gained as a result of the training: priority given to trainings that lead to a state or national certification such as NCCER
5. Trainings in one of the in-demand sectors in the Trident area: Diversified Manufacturing, Transportation, Distribution & logistics, HealthCare, Information Technology and Business Services, Construction Trades, Hospitality & Tourism.
6. Employers Size: This is determined as the employer size defined in the application.

• Small: no more than 50 employees
• Medium: 51, but no more than 100 employees
• Large: 101 or more

To Apply:

Please list trainings in 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 application.

The deadline for submission of application is October 22, 2020 by 4:00 pm.  Please submit applications to gborzendowski@eckerd.org

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

For More Information

For more information and /or assistance with the application process, contact Gene Borzendowski, Business Services Manager, SC Works Trident, at 843-574-1860 or via email at gborzendowski@eckerd.org.

Visit http://www.scworkstrident.org/ or http://www.bcdcog.com for information and a copy of the application.