AURORA | Job seekers often find themselves in a tough spot: businesses won’t hire them because they don’t have training, and they can’t get trained because businesses won’t hire them.
Arapahoe/Douglas Works is hoping to ease those troubles with a new program for companies that will reimburse a portion of the cost to train a new hire.
The workforce center launched a new program in June called Maximizing Area Talent for Competitive Hires, MATCH, that reimburses businesses up to 90 percent of a new employee’s wages. The reimbursement is aimed at helping businesses cover the cost of training inexperienced new hires, and helping those employees find work in a tough job market.
The reimbursement — as much as $6,000 per hire with no restriction on length — is based on a variety of factors, including a company’s size, the particular industry and employee’s age.
Cassandra Snow, the MATCH program coordinator at Arapahoe/Douglas Works, said the program is aimed at helping young people find employment.
“A lot of these youth don’t already have an extensive work background, and this really helps them get their foot in the door,” she said.
The program also will help the recently unemployed who may need to change careers and learn new skills that require on-the-job training, she said.
Arapahoe County Commissioner Bill Holen said the program was a good fit for companies and job seekers.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for Colorado companies to conserve resources when hiring new employees, and also save valuable time in recruiting new employees,” he said in a statement announcing the program.
“Arapahoe/Douglas Works will pre-screen suitable candidates from our pool of talent that matches your business‚ hiring needs, and then offer a wage subsidy while you get your new employee up to speed with on-the-job training.”
Snow said workforce center officials don’t have a specific amount of money to dole out with the program, but say several businesses will be able to take advantage of it. Already, three electricians’ apprentices hired as part of the program are working full-time for a local company and making $12 an hour, she said.
Qualifying businesses need to have been operating in the state for at least 120 days, pay into workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance programs, and must not have laid off employees within the past six months. The businesses also must sign an agreement with Arapahoe/Douglas Works before hiring the employee agreeing to hire the trainee as an employee of their company, with the commitment to retain the employee after training has been successfully completed and all expectations have been met, according to the workforce center.
For more on the program, contact Snow at 303-636-1461 or email csnow@arapahoegov.com.