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The Incumbent Worker Training Program is funded by the Federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and administered by Workforce Florida, Inc. The purpose of the program is to provide grants to employers to assist with certain expenses associated with skills upgrade training for full-time employees of the company. The total amount of funding available for all training projects in 2007/2008 is $2 million. Training projects funded may begin on the approval date and may have 12 months from the approval date to complete training.

Program Guidelines

Applications for the 2011/2012 Florida Incumbent Worker Training Program are open to Florida companies meeting the guidelines listed below.

Business Applying For Funding

• Must be a "for-profit" business and have been in operation in Florida for a minimum of one year prior to application date to be eligible for grant funding
• Must demonstrate financial viability, upon request, and must be current on all state tax obligations. Verification must be provided upon request.
• Must comply with the non discrimination and equal opportunity provisions of Section 188 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998;Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973;Age Discrimination Act of 1975, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and with 29 C.F.R. Part 37
• Must have at least one full-time employee(must be Florida Resident)
• Can only be considered for an award every other program year.
• Awards made subject to availability of funding.

Priority Will Be Given To:

• Businesses with 25 employees or less
• Businesses in rural counties and areas
• Businesses in distressed inner-city areas, EZ, Brownfield, and HUB Zones
• Businesses in a qualified targeted industry(see list on website)
• Businesses whose grant proposals represent a significant upgrade in employee skills
• Businesses whose grant proposals represent a significant layoff avoidance strategy.

Training Services (NOTE: All training must be completed within 12 months of the approval date):

• Can be provided through Florida’s public or private educational institutions, private training organizations, trainers employed by the business, or a combination of training providers. Private postsecondary institutions and private training providers may be utilized only upon a review that includes, but is not limited to, accreditation and licensure and prior approval by Workforce Florida, Inc.
• Can be conducted at the business’s facility, at the training provider’s facility or at a combination of sites.

Reimbursable Training Expenses

• Instructors’/trainers’ salaries – actual amount for vendors or up to $ 25/hour for internal instructors
• Curriculum Development
• Textbooks/Manuals

Non-Reimbursable Costs

• Trainees’ wages
• Purchase of capital equipment
• Purchase of any item or service that may possibly be used outside of the training project
• Travel expenses of trainers or trainees
• On-the-job training costs
• Assessment, testing or certification fees

Grant Awards

• Businesses approved for funds enter into a contract with Workforce Florida, Inc. which commits the business to complete the training project as proposed in their application.
• Training for reimbursement under this grant can not begin prior to the approval date.
• Any business approved for an IWT grant award, that is a recipient or sub recipient of Federal funding of $500,000 or more in a fiscal year, will be required to furnish an independent financial and compliance audit. The company is responsible for the cost of the audit, and IWT funds cannot be used to cover these costs.
• Approved budget items are reimbursed upon presentation of adequate documentation of the training and evidence that the training expense incurred has been paid.
• Businesses provide a matching contribution to the training project. Businesses will be required to provide a minimum of 50% of the requested direct training costs, i.e. instructors’ wages/tuition, curriculum development and textbooks and manuals. Some exceptions may apply.
• Business will keep accurate records of the project’s implementation process and certify that all information provided for the purpose of requesting reimbursements and reporting training activity is accurate and true for a period of at least 3yrs.
• For performance tracking measures, businesses, are required to submit specific information for employees participating in training activities which includes, but is not limited to, trainees’ names, social security numbers, dates of birth, wages, etc.
• Businesses must submit monthly reimbursement request with required documentation or a monthly training status report by the 20th of the month for the previous month’s training; failure to do this will delay processing of reimbursements.
• Maximum award will be $50,000.

Project Completion

• With the high demand and limited funding available, all applications will be evaluated to leverage other state, federal and private funds with Incumbent Worker Training funds.
• All grant projects shall be performance based with specific measurable performance outcomes -- including the completion of the training project and number of employees trained.
• Final payment for businesses receiving IWT grants will be withheld until the final report is submitted and all performance criteria specified in the grant have been achieved. www.workforceflorida.com 07/08 IWT Program Guidelines Pg. 3
• Businesses shall provide sufficient documentation to Workforce Florida for identification of all employee participants for calculation of performance measures required by WIA, and any other outcomes deemed pertinent by the grant administrator.
• All training must be completed no later than 12 months of the approval date.

Application Instructions

DETACH and complete the attached IWT Program Application. Any information or documentation that cannot be supplied in the provided space should be identified by the relevant question number and attached to the back of the application form. Submit one original and three (3) copies of the signed completed application to:

The Incumbent Worker Training Program, Workforce Florida, Inc.,
Attention: Catherine Kennedy
1580 Waldo Palmer Lane
Suite 1
Tallahassee, FL 32308

PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION AT LEAST 30 DAYS PRIOR TO THE DESIRED STARTDATE OF YOUR TRAINING. This does not however guarantee that the approval date will be on or before your training start date. If you have any questions or need assistance in completing the application, please contact Catherine Kennedy, IWT Program Manager, Workforce Florida, Inc. at 850-921-1119 or email: ckennedy@workforceflorida.com