Available Programs and Grants

The workforce system provides an array of financial incentive and tax credits to support worker training, retraining, and upskilling. Additional resources may be available in your local area; contact your local Business Service Team to learn more.

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Incumbent Worker Training Grant Program

Local workforce boards administer funds that may be used for upskilling of incumbent workers. Training must be linked to improving the earning potential of the worker or the competitiveness of the participating business. These training grant awards are locally determined. Contact your local business service team for more information.

Program Benefit: Awards are based on funding availability and made on a sliding scale based on the size of the business. The offset could be as high as 90% of the training cost for companies with fewer than 50 employees or 50% of the cost for employers with more than 100 employees.

On the Job Training Grant Program (OJT)

Local workforce boards administer funds that may be used for OJT. Through the OJT contract, the employer provides occupational skills training for the eligible worker in exchange for reimbursement to the employer of a percentage of the employee’s wages as compensation for the costs of providing training and supervision as well as the potentially lower productivity of the participant while in training. Contact your local business service team for more information.

Program Benefit: Awards are based on funding availability and made on a sliding scale not to exceed 75% of employee wages for a time period to be determined by local workforce board policy.

V3 Employment Grant Program

In 2015, the Governor and Virginia’s General Assembly unanimously approved appropriation of $500,000 annually for the purpose of establishing an employment grant for V3-certified employers. The Department of Veterans Services and the V3 Program administers this grant.

In order to qualify for the V3 Employment Grant, companies must be a V3-CertifiedCompany with a V3 Employer ID# and employ fewer than 300 individuals at the time of the grant application.

Program Benefit: Companies may qualify for up to $10,000 in state grant award, with $1,000 being awarded per eligible veteran hired.

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Worker Retraining Tax Credit

This credit allows an employer to claim a tax credit for the costs of providing eligible worker retraining to qualified employees for taxable years beginning Jan. 1, 1999.

The credit may be applied against individual income tax, estate and trust tax, corporate income tax, bank franchise tax, and taxes imposed on insurance companies and utility companies.

Eligible worker retraining includes non-credit courses that are approved by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership. For information on non-credit course approval, call 804.545.5706. It also includes credit or non-credit retraining courses taken through an apprenticeship agreement approved by the Commissioner of Labor and Industry.

Program Benefit: Generally, the credit is 30% of all classroom training costs. However,is limited to $200 annual credit per student if the course work is incurred at a private school or $300 per qualified employee with retraining in a science, technology engineering, arts, or math (STEAM) discipline. Virginia is authorized to issue up to $2,500,000 of retraining credits annually. If total requested credits exceed this amount, employers will receive a prorated amount of authorized credits.

Credits taken may not exceed tax liability in a single taxable year. Unused credits may be carried forward for 3 years.

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Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)

WOTC is a federal tax credit incentive, administered by the Virginia Employment Commission, that provides an incentive for

private-sector businesses to hire individuals from any of ten target workforce populations who have historically faced significant barriers to employment. The objective of this program is to enable the targeted employees to gradually move from economic dependency into self-sufficiency as they earn a steady income and become contributing taxpayers, while allowing participating employers to reduce their federal income tax liability.

Program Benefit: Employers can earn $1,200 to $9,600 per eligible employee, depending on the amount of hours the eligible employee works in a calendar year.

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Other Incentive and Grant Awarding Entities

Virginia Economic Development Partnership

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Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission

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GOVirginia

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Need More Information?

Brett Tavel, MPA

Rapid Response State Coordinator

Workforce Development Services Division

300 Arboretum Place, Suite 200 Richmond, VA 23236

Email: btavel@vccs.edu

Office: 804-819-4946

Cell: 540-379-5380

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