The Incumbent Worker Training Program (IWT) is a competitive grant that provides funding to help eligible Atlanta businesses effectively train and retain employees by providing skills upgrades and process improvement training for existing, full-time employees.
IWT must be designed:
- Between employees and employers with an established relationship of at least six months at the time of the training (see Incumbent Worker Eligibility for cohort exception);
- To improve the skills of the existing workforce to align with new job requirements;
- To increase both an individual’s and a company’s competitiveness;
- To mitigate the impact of a layoff, if utilized as a part of a layoff aversion strategy; and
- Wherever possible, to allow the individual to gain industry recognized training experience and ultimately should lead to an increase in wages.
In a non-layoff aversion scenario, the training must be to the benefit of the employee and the employer. Under these circumstances, the IWT must meet at least one of the following criteria;
- Result in a wage increase or other financial incentive, such as a bonus;
- Result in the opportunity for promotion within the company; or
- Result in an enhanced title to reflect increased responsibilities within the company.
Click HERE to download the Incumbent Worker Application. All programs are based on available funding.