U.S. Department of Labor awards Kentucky $978,725 for programs
FRANKFORT, Ky. – Governor Steve Beshear today announced Kentucky will receive a nearly $1 million On-the-Job Training (OJT) National Emergency Grant funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Funds will provide on-the-job training to approximately 160 long-term unemployed workers in Kentucky.
“In response to the volatile economic situations Kentucky workers are experiencing, this grant will provide valuable on-the-job training while allowing workers to earn a paycheck,” said Gov. Beshear. “The infusion of funds will enable local workforce investment boards to enhance Kentucky’s efforts toward job retention and new job prospects for prolonged unemployed workers.
Local Workforce Investment Areas will contract with approximately 64 employers across the state to provide training through the grant. An OJT is provided under a contract with an employer in the public, private non-profit or private sector. Through the OJT contract, occupational training is provided for the participant in exchange for the reimbursement of a portion of the wages to compensate for the employer’s extraordinary costs. Employers will be reimbursed by at least 50 percent of the cost of wages, and possibly more, based on a sliding scale and depending on the size of the company.
National Emergency Grants (NEG) are part of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Dislocated Worker National Reserve. NEG funding is administered by the Kentucky Department of Workforce Investment’s Office of Employment and Training in the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet.
