Is offering up to 50% matching grant to cover the total cost of training employees of business in Jackson and Josephine County.    The Employer Workforce Training Fund’s (EWTF) purpose is to support the retention and growth of quality jobs, a skilled workforce and competitive businesses in Jackson and Josephine Counties.  The key emphasis of the fund is to upgrade the skills of those currently employed in the private sector workforce in order to increase productivity, to keep businesses in Jackson and Josephine Counties viable and competitive, and to offer opportunities for new skills to Jackson and Josephine County workers.

To this purpose the Workforce Response Team (WRT) of the Rogue Valley Workforce Development Council (RVWDC) requests applications for workforce training projects to help retain, retrain, promote or expand the workforce at local companies. Funds are intended to help with sustainable business retention and expansion through the training of current workers.

Eligibility:  Existing businesses; business consortia; or employee, industry, or business associations with operations in Jackson and/or Josephine Counties are eligible to apply.  Private non-profits located in the two-county area and operating in the targeted sectors may also apply.  Public entities are NOT eligible to apply and no training for public employees is an appropriate use of any of these funds.

FUNDING AVAILABILITY AND REQUIRED APPLICANT MATCH:  Approximately $256,000 is available for training projects.  New resources are expected annually for the fund.  Applicants must match requested funds at a minimum of dollar for dollar.  Match may consist of either cash or in-kind.