The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) announced the application deadline for the Arizona Job Training Program is December 4, 2019. The program offers up to 1.3 million in grants, per employer, to help Arizona businesses maintain or exceed employee-training expenditures.

The program is set to expire December 31, 2020. If funds are still available after the current round of grants, there may be additional application rounds. That said, there may not be remaining funds after the current round of grants, so this may be the final application round under this legislation. As of now, there are no plans to renew the program.

Here’s what employers need to know to qualify and apply for the program.

Qualifying Businesses

The Arizona Job Training Program is a competitive application available to Arizona employers who plan to conduct training for new employees. The average of all employees included in the training program must meet or exceed the wage for the county in which the business is located throughout the term of the grant.

The following training expenses are eligible for reimbursement under the program: 

• Charges assessed by third-party training providers
• Training material purchases and productions
• External training facility rental expenses—not to exceed 25% of total grant award
• Hourly wages of in-house training providers for allowable in-house training
• On-the-job training costs
• Travel costs—excluding food and beverages, and not to exceed 5% of total grant award
• Other expenses as approved by the ACA

Potential Benefits

Program grants are payable on a cost reimbursement basis, and they offer several potential benefits for employers, such as:

• A maximum award of $1.3 million per employer
• Up to 75% coverage of eligible costs for new employee training and 50% of eligible costs for incumbent employee training
• Up to $5,000 in training reimbursement per employee located in Maricopa or Prima counties
• Up to $8,000 in training reimbursement per employee in rural locations
• Approximate one-year award term from application date to November 1, 2020

Training Priorities

The ACA prioritizes specific kinds of training when selecting potential grant recipients, such as:  

• Training that results in the employee-trainee receiving a skill certificate reflective of value for other employers
• Training resulting in wage increases
• Training for advanced jobs skills, such as lean manufacturing; six sigma; advanced information technology skills, such as SQL, HTML and Java; advanced financial analysis; quality management; and welding

We’re Here to Help

To learn more about ACA grants, qualifying criteria, or how to apply, contact your Moss Adams professional.