GRANTS & TRAINING

Jackson County has a proven 25 year history of helping businesses grow and prosper. We understand that companies will rely largely on the creation and retention of knowledge based jobs, and the ability to train and retrain the existing workforce to meet the skill requirements of current and future employers.

Various avenues of funding are offered through the State of Indiana. Established partnerships with educational institutions have afforded JCIDC and the Workforce Partnership the capability to implement community consortium training classes, as well as assist companies with customized training, applicable to certificate and degreed programs.

Skills Enhancement Fund (SEF)
The Skills Enhancement Fund (SEF) provides financial assistance to businesses committed to training their workforce. Trainees must be Indiana residents. SEF reimburses eligible training expenses over a two-year term. Companies may reapply for additional SEF funds after their initial two-year term. IEDC typically does not provide reimbursement for training that is required by law.

The Indiana Department of Commerce offers assistance from the Skills Enhancement Fund (SEF) program. This flexible training program will provide partial reimbursement for a wide variety of training costs. Eligible costs include instructional materials, instructor salaries and travel to training sites.

Technology Enhancement Certification for Hoosiers (TECH)
The Technology Enhancement Certification for Hoosiers (TECH) Fund is a reimbursement grant program designed to help companies meet the demands of the new IT economy by increasing the number of certified information technology workers in Indiana. This program provides financial assistance to companies that are committed to training their workers on the latest information technology.

The IDOC, in partnership with the Department of Workforce Development, created the Technology Enhancement Certifications of Hoosiers (TECH) Fund to help Indiana businesses train their existing information technology professionals. The maximum award to any one company is $50,000 and can be used for costs associated with a company's IT professionals earning recognized certifications in areas including: systems administrations, systems engineering, and software development.

Department of Workforce Development
The Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD) may also offer assistance through the following:

• Employee Recruitment Indiana
  DWD's Customer Self-Service System (CS3) is a sophisticated internet based job matching system which provides the ability to match the company's job orders for new workers with the skills of job seekers all over the state. The system increases the company's access to qualified workers, contributes to diversity in the potential labor pool and ensures that only those individuals most likely to meet the company's job criteria are seen. Through CS3, DWD can assist in the recruitment, screening and selection of employees based on qualifications specified by a company. Click for more information>>

• Advance Indiana
  When a business is established in Indiana and a company is committed to expanding the skills of their current workforce, the Advance Indiana program can be considered. Advance Indiana is intended to address the need of companies for a skilled workforce while promoting lifelong learning opportunities for working Hoosiers. The training initiative develops the transferable skills of workers, is targeted to Indiana businesses, available over a two-year period and must result in a portable credential for the employee participating in the training. Portable credentials sought by participants in current training projects include college degrees and advanced information technology certifications.

• Strategic Skills Initiative
  Governor Daniels' Strategic Skills Initiative (SSI) was developed to address Indiana's critical job shortages and to increase opportunities and wages for Hoosier workers. Throughout the state, money has been awarded and solutions identified to encourage economic growth and better paying jobs across the state's 11 economic growth regions. Click for more information>>