When your company makes an effort to train your team, your business receives a number of internal benefits. These benefits include, Reduced Turnover, Increased Productivity, and Increased revenue. What if I tell you that your company can also receive an additional benefit through Florida's Workforce Training Grants?

Many business owners are not aware that the State of Florida provides an opportunity to help reduce the cost of training by up to 50% through its Workforce Training Grants. I've been asked, "Why would the State provide assistance for a business to train it's team?" The simple answer is: Not only does training your team benefit your business, it also improves the workforce skills within the State. Ultimately, a skilled workforce attracts new companies to the State.

A major Workforce Training Grant that is available to existing Florida business is the Incumbent Worker Training (IWT) Grant. This grant reimburses up to 50% of a company's direct training costs up to $50,000.

To qualify for an award under the IWT Grant, a business must:

• Be in operation for at least one year
• Have at least one FT employee, other than the owner
• Provide general skills upgrade training
• Complete the training within one year

Eligible Costs under the Workforce Training Grants include training fees, trainer salaries, curriculum development, and the purchase of textbooks & other training materials.

According to Workforce Florida, 42% of IWT awards went to manufacturing companies, 20% to professional/technical services industry and the remainder to service, wholesale trade, construction and transportation industries.

Many businesses are not taking advantage of the IWT Grant because they have no idea that these grants exist. However, now that you know of a way to reduce your training costs by 50%, wouldn't it be a shame to ignore these grants? You can complete a brief checklist to find out if you qualify.

Margo Thomas is the owner of Marlynn Consulting, where she helps businesses reduce their training costs by 50%. She has worked with Florida economic incentives for ten years and has assisted in confirming over 50,000 Florida jobs and recommending over $200 million in tax credits and refunds on behalf of the State of Florida. To find out more about Mrs. Thomas and her services, visit www.marlynnconsulting.com or call 850-727-0293.

Tags: Workforce Training Grants Florida Grants Incumbent Worker Training IWT