By Meg Moss, Chamber of Commerce Executive Director
According to a press release from Central Carolina Community College, The Triangle South Workforce Development Board (TSWDB) is accepting applications for its T3 (Training Today’s Teams) Grant for Incumbent Workers.
Rosalind Cross, TSWDB Executive Director, shared that “the T3 grant was designed to meet the special requirement of an employer to retain a skilled workforce or avert the need to lay off employees by assisting the workers in obtaining the skills necessary to retain employment.”
The TSWDB provides funding through its T3 Grant for Incumbent Workers to allow businesses with five or more employees operating in Chatham, Harnett, Lee, and Sampson counties to “skill-up” their existing workforce to meet the challenges of changes to production processes or market demands.
In the recent past, “awards have been made to a medical facility, a sign-making company and a brewing company. The training that was provided to the business was designed to assist with skilling-up the existing workforce in order to remain marketable” according to Cross.
Cross also shared a few of the questions that applicants can expect to se on the grant application. They are “what are the training needs, how will the training lead to employee retention and company competitiveness, and the reason for requesting financial assistance to conduct the training.”
Cross went on to say that “T3 provides a wonderful opportunity for employers to skill up their workforce to enhance production or respond to our ever-changing market. The process is painless, with limited paperwork involved, and allows the business to tap into training that can increase viability or avert layoffs. Also, T3 grants provide employees with transferable skills that can be used for growth opportunities within the company.”
For-profit and not-for-profit organizations that have been in business for at least a year in North Carolina are eligible to apply, although the grants are awarded on a competitive basis. Applications are available upon request from the Triangle South Workforce Development Board office.
Businesses and nonprofits can request an application by contacting a member of the TSWDB Business Outreach team: Norman Collins can be reached at 919-704-6655, or by email at ncollins@cccc.edu, or Jessica Ingram can be reached at 919-895-0302 or by email at jtingram@cccc.edu. The maximum grant allowance is $5,000 per grant, and $10,000 per program year, with a lifetime funding limit of $50,000. T3 Grant Applications will be accepted from Monday, May 17th until Monday, June 16th. Applicants should expect to be notified on their application status in July 2021.
The Triangle South Workforce Development Board is responsible for planning, policy guidance, and oversight of the workforce investment system in Chatham, Harnett, Lee, and Sampson counties. Its goal is to combine area employment, training, and supportive services and programs into a consumer-based, market-driven system that meets the needs of job seekers and employers.