MEDIA
Learn & Earn Program Connecting Local Businesses with Community and Technical College Talent
Workforce skills training continues to be one of the top priorities and resource requests asked for by business and industry throughout the region. Huntington Area Development Council makes it part of our mission to help companies meet these demands. As our office meets with companies in the area, we consistently promote a number of programs available to assist West Virginia businesses with training. One program in particular, the state’s Learn and Earn Program, is maybe one that you haven’t heard of, but which is providing significant financial benefits to businesses while helping connect skilled West Virginian workers with quality employment opportunities.
A number of front-line programs are available to help businesses bear the costs associated with increased training demands. The most prolific program available is the Governor’s Guaranteed Workforce program which provides direct reimbursement to companies for costs associated with training. Companies can apply on a rolling basis for annual allocations of training funding. Up to $2,000 per trained employee are available annually for West Virginia businesses for qualified training expenses. These funds are limited though and are only applicable to certain industry sectors such as manufacturing and professional services. There are other programs available through Workforce West Virginia that provide real financial incentives to hire and train new and existing employees, but there are few programs available to business and industry that are as potentially lucrative to businesses as the Learn and Earn Program.
The Learn and Earn Program is a program directed by the West Virginia Community and Technical College system. It was established as a way to connect West Virginia employers with the immense talent being generated by the state’s community colleges. Students at community and technical colleges around the state can be placed with local businesses in positions that directly align with a student’s degree field. Employers receive a 50% wage reimbursement for student-employees who are working in their field and earning a minimum of $10.00/hour while actively enrolled as a student. The program offers a pathway for students to find employment, earn a wage and establish roots in communities across West Virginia while also earning a degree. It also provides a financial incentive for employers to hire West Virginian workers.
“This is a great cost-savings opportunity that employers are using to both train and tryout candidates for future full-time/continued employment and/or to upskill their incumbent workers,” says Kristy Wood, Executive Director of Workforce Development at Mountwest Community & Technical College. “Currently, 15 local employers are taking advantage of the Learn and Earn grant.”
Mountwest’s dynamic career and workforce program works with students and employers to deploy customized training courses, to design curriculum for specific courses, to identify students for specific positions, and for many other services. “For the employer it is a simple, straight-forward process assisted by Mountwest, and there are no strings attached,” says Wood. “If employers really understood the training opportunities and cost-savings initiatives available to them, they would be lined up out the door.”
If you would like more information about Learn & Earn or to explore ways Mountwest can help you develop your workforce, please reach out at 304-710-3414 or via email at workforce@mctc.edu.