Are you involved in construction or the skilled trades?
Do you own a construction business?
Construction and the skilled trades are a team sport. Attempting to complete a construction project by yourself is like trying to win the Superbowl by yourself!
No matter how good you are you will never achieve your goal. Success requires team members!
Everything rises and falls on leadership. If you want your company to grow, you must work on building yourself first. And if your organization is large enough, you need to work on building the leaders in your construction business.
Building Your Skills as a Mentor in the Construction Industry
Learn to train your employees more effectively and consistently for maximum performance. If you are an employee, learn how to coach and build others so that you can continue to grow your career.
But how? Training costs money!
Maybe you have heard the story. The company’s accountant and the president are sitting down to talk about training. The accountant says something like “what happens if we train our people and they leave?” The president replies “what happens if we don’t train them and they stay?”
The United States government has heard the cries of the small businesses in this country. There are now programs and funding for assisting small businesses in training their workforce to improve productivity.
Through a federal program called WIOA (Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act) the U.S. government has set aside monies to help subsidize training programs offered by small businesses. These programs are administered by the states as well as the counties and cities within those states.
Click here to see a state by state reference guide of available worker training programs.
Training subsidies are offered for different groups of employees. Each state determines the different groups of employees who are eligible for different training opportunities. One group of employees that are offered training resources are incumbent workers. An incumbent worker in most cases is an employee who has been working full-time for a company for a minimum of 6 months. This definition may change from state to state.
What are the benefits of training your incumbent workers?
Existing employees are your most valuable employees. Hiring employees is one of the most expensive things that a company can do. There are costs including initial training as well as pre-employment testing that increase the costs of hiring someone. These are the hard costs. They do not include the soft costs including your time as an owner or manager of a company.
Employees are a valuable part of your company. When you have an existing employee, you have already invested time and money to hire them and get them up to par on your business’s operations and practices. When you train incumbent workers, you are investing further in them. This can improve the efficiency of your business. It can increase the morale of your team which will help you build a workforce that sticks with your business.
What is incumbent worker training?
Depending on where your business is located, your state may offer an Incumbent Worker Training Program. Certain states, through grants provided by the federal government, offer subsidies to small businesses to help offset the costs of training your existing or incumbent workers.
Training may be conducted at the employer’s facility, an off-site training facility, or online. Your company’s training program may include training intended to strengthen basic skills. The training is not limited to math or writing skills. Training can include soft skills such as management and leadership training.
Training that is required to meet a specific government regulation including safety is not typically covered as part of the training reimbursement.
How does a sample program work?
First, you do not need to utilize a state program to help build your employees. You only need to believe in the concept that your employees are worth investing in – and then look for ways to help build them.
If you are interested in exploring the WIOA programs such as Incumbent Worker Training in your city, county or state you need to reach out to your specific state program. Each area of the country may administer this program differently.
The following is an example of how the program works:
- The business determines the type of training that they want to provide for their employees.
- They receive a quote from a training provider such as Construct-Ed. They agree to the program.
- The company who is purchasing the training submits the proposal to their state, county or city for approval.
- A contract may be issued by the government that outlines the agreement and the reimbursement process.
- The company pays for the training to the training provider.
- The company submits for reimbursement after the training is completed.
The company who employs the individuals receiving the training is responsible for managing the overall process and is required to burden the costs of the training until reimbursement is issued by the state.
Other benefits may also include the costs of equipment purchased for training, curriculum development expenses, travel and lodging costs, and possibly the amount of the wages paid by the employer while the worker is attending training.
In addition, employees typically must be a minimum of 18 years old and must be legally allowed to work in the United States.
How do you find more information about programs in your state?
Finding information on programs in your state can be a difficult process. One way that you can locate information for programs in your state is to search for the term Incumbent Worker Training program and the state where you are located in. Construct-Ed has also assembled a full list of states and the links to the Incumbent Worker Training programs for those states. The links on this list may change depending on the status of the programs in the states listed.
Construct-Ed has a training program package created that you can submit to your state for approval as part of your Incumbent Workforce Training program. This training package is a combination of online courses and group coaching.
Incumbent Workforce Training Program
Construct-Ed has a training program package created that you can submit to your state for approval as part of your Incumbent Workforce Training program. This training package is a combination of online courses and group coaching.
Get Started Now
Setup an incumbent work training program for your business today! A key to the success of any training program is to provide incentives to your employees for completing the training. Most incumbent worker training programs require some type of raise at the end of the training. This helps give employees the incentive to complete the training and helps them realize that training will support their growth!
The following entities may not be eligible for IWT Funding (please check with your state, county or city for eligibility):
- Non-profit public entities and/or community-based organizations
- Training providers
- Labor unions
Employers are encouraged to complete the Incumbent Worker Training application a soon as possible as funds will be available on a first come first served basis.
If you need help locating resources for your area, please email Construct-Ed at info@construct-ed.com. Provide the state that you are interested in and we will do some research for you!
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