October 4, 2021 – The Adams County Workforce and Business Center (WBC) is administering a series of skill training grants to support employers in the region with new types of training and services. The grants feature funding targeting COVID-affected businesses and allow greater flexibility in meeting the needs of the new economy.
The Reskilling, Upskilling, and Next-skilling or RUN grants are funds derived from Colorado House Bill 21-1264 and signed into law on June 23, 2021. The bill appropriated $75 million in funds from the American Rescue Plan to support talent development. The funds will ambitiously hope to provide training for 4,900 individuals.
With the Reskilling portion of the funds, the WBC will focus on providing technical training for new positions and possibly entrepreneurship support. The goal will be to help the unemployed and underemployed achieve economic self-sufficiency by paying tuition and other training costs.
With the Upskilling portion of the funds, the WBC will be able to provide employers with Incumbent Worker Training funding to help employers upskill from within their own organization. They can do this without taking on the added training costs or fees. The WBC will even help you find an education partner. Businesses can identify entry-level employees already on staff and the WBC can fund training to help them gain skills or certifications to become more valuable to the company, and more marketable to the industry.
With the Next-skilling portion of the funds, the WBC will support activities to develop future-ready, soft, or essential skills like remote work, critical thinking, and project management. These activities may include the thorough assessment of industry or occupational aptitude to screen in the best candidates for employers.
The grants will be administered over the next three years and certain eligibility requirements will apply. The participants must register with www.connectingcolorado.com and employers who wish to leverage these grants into a better talent pipeline for their business or industry should contact the WBC business services team at 720-523-6890.
ADAMS COUNTY WORKFORCE & BUSINESS CENTER