2 minute read
Training and Hiring Assistance
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE
A wide variety of services are available through the Kansas Workforce Centers located throughout the state. Services include statewide and national job listings, applicant pre-screening, space for interviews and job fairs, assistance with interview scheduling, applicant assessment services and testing, military veteran services and current labor market information. These services are available to all Kansas employers at no cost and may be accessed through kansasworks.com or by contacting the local Kansas Workforce Center.
KANSAS INDUSTRIAL RETRAINING
The Kansas Industrial Retraining (KIR) program is a job retention tool that helps employees of restructuring companies who are likely to be displaced because of obsolete or inadequate job skills and knowledge.
QUALIFYING CRITERIA: 1) To participate, a company must retrain at least one existing position at an average wage equal to or greater than the median wage for their county. 2) Firms must show they are restructuring their business operations or retraining their workforce due to incorporation of existing technology, development and incorporation of new technology, development and implementation of new production. 3) A company must show that employees to be trained are likely to be displaced because of obsolete or inadequate job skills and knowledge.
Learn more at kansascommerce.gov/kir.
KANSAS INDUSTRIAL TRAINING
Our Kansas Industrial Training (KIT) program is direct financial assistance for the training of net new jobs to Kansas. The program can be structured as pre-employment, classroom, on-the-job or a combination of the three approaches. The program can pay the negotiated costs for instructors’ salaries, video development, textbooks and training manuals, supplies and materials and curriculum planning and development.
To access the funding, the company prepares a plan which identifies trainers, trainees, the type of training and the estimated cost. Once approved, the funding is allocated based on actual reimbursement of training expenditures per the plan and contract with the Department of Commerce. Travel expenses or payments for training facilities are not allowed under the program. All contracts will be written for 12 months; however, a company can close early on the contract if desired. Requests for reimbursement are accepted at the end of the project. Reimbursement requests must be made within 90 days after the project ends, or the company risks losing the incentive.
QUALIFYING CRITERIA: 1) The average wage must be equal to or higher than the median wage for the county in which it is located. 2) More than 50 percent of the revenues for the operation need to come from outside of Kansas. 3) Firms must show they are creating at least one net new job in Kansas. For expanding companies, a “net new job” is any job that is created over and above the employee base, which is determined by calculating the average number of permanent full- and part-time employees over the preceding 12 months.
Learn more at kansascommerce.gov/kit.
Kansas is a Right-to-Work state. Our union membership is 8.7%, well below the national average. More than 90% of Kansas adults have a high school diploma; more than 34% have a college degree. Kansas worker compensation rates rank at 6th lowest in the U.S.
