§
531. Employment Training Program
(a) The
Secretary of Commerce and Community Development may issue performance-based
grants to any employer, consortium of employers, or providers of training,
either individuals or organizations, as necessary, to conduct training under
the following circumstances:
(1) when
issuing grants to an employer or consortium of employers, the employer promises
as a condition of the grant to increase employment or provide training to
enhance employment stability at an existing or expanded eligible facility
within the State where eligible facility is defined as in subdivision 212(6) of
this title relating to the Vermont Economic Development Authority, or the
employer or consortium of employers promises to open an eligible facility within
the State which will employ persons, provided that for the purposes of this
section, eligible facility may be broadly interpreted to include employers in
sectors other than manufacturing; and
(2) training
is required for potential employees, new employees, or long-standing employees
in the methods, either singularly or in combination relating to pre-employment
training, on-the-job training, upgrade training, and crossover training, or
specialized instruction, either in-plant or through a training provider.
(b)
Eligibility for grant. The Secretary of Commerce and Community Development may
award a grant to an employer if:
(1) the
employer's new or expanded initiative will enhance employment opportunities for
Vermont residents;
(2) the
employer provides its employees with at least three of the following:
(A) health
care benefits with 50 percent or more of the premium paid by the employer;
(B) dental
assistance;
(C) paid
vacation and holidays;
(D) child
care;
(E) other
extraordinary employee benefits;
(F) retirement
benefits; and
(3) the
training is directly related to the employment responsibilities of the trainee.
(c) The
employer promises as a condition of the grant to:
(1) employ new
persons at a wage which, at the completion of the training program, is two
times the prevailing state or federal minimum wage, whichever is greater,
reduced by the value of any existing health benefit package up to a limit of 30
percent of the gross program wage, or for existing employees, to increase the
wage to two times the prevailing state and federal minimum wage, whichever is
greater, reduced by the value of any existing health benefit package up to a
limit of 20 percent of the gross program wage, upon completion of training;
provided, however, that in areas defined by the Secretary of Commerce and
Community Development in which the Secretary finds that the rate of
unemployment is 50 percent greater than the average for the State, the wage
rate under this subsection may be set by the sScretary at a rate no less than
one and one-half times the federal or state minimum wage, whichever is greater;
(2) employ
persons who have completed the training provided for them and nominated as
qualified for a reasonable period at the wages and occupations described in the
contract, unless the employer reasonably finds the nominee is not qualified;
(3) provide
its employees with at least three of the following:
(A) health
care benefits with 50 percent or more of the premium paid by the employer;
(B) dental
assistance;
(C) paid
vacation and holidays;
(D) child
care;
(E) other
extraordinary employee benefits; and
(F) retirement
benefits.
(4) submit a
customer satisfaction report to the Secretary of Commerce and Community
Development, on a form prepared by the Secretary for that purpose, no more than
30 days from the last day of the training program.
(d) In order
to avoid duplication of programs or services and to provide the greatest return
on investment from training provided under this section, the Secretary of
Commerce and Community Development shall:
(1) first
consult with the Commissioner of Labor regarding whether the grantee has
accessed, or is eligible to access, other workforce development and training
resources offered by public or private workforce development partners;
(2) disburse grant
funds only for training hours that have been successfully completed by
employees; provided that a grant for on-the-job training shall either provide
not more than 50 percent of wages for each employee in training, or not more
than 50 percent of trainer expense, but not both, and further provided that
training shall be performed in accordance with a training plan that defines the
subject of the training, the number of training hours, and how the
effectiveness of the training will be evaluated; and
(3) use funds
under this section only to supplement training efforts of employers and not to
replace or supplant training efforts of employers.
(e) The
Secretary of Commerce and Community Development shall administer all training
programs under this section, may select and use providers of training as
appropriate, and shall adopt rules and may accept services, money, or property
donated for the purposes of this section. The Secretary may promote awareness
of, and may give priority to, training that enhances critical skills,
productivity, innovation, quality, or competitiveness, such as training in
Innovation Engineering, "Lean" systems, and ISO certification for
expansion into new markets.
(f) Upon
completion of the training program for any individual, the secretary of
Commerce and Community Development shall review the records and shall award to
the trainee, if appropriate, a certificate of completion for the training.
(g) None of
the criteria in subdivision (a)(1) of this section shall apply to a designated
job development zone under chapter 29, subchapter 2 of this title.
(h) The
Secretary may designate the Commissioner of Economic Development to carry out
his or her powers and duties under this chapter.
(i) Program
Outcomes.
(1) On or
before September 1, 2011, the Agency of Commerce and Community Development, in
coordination with the department of labor, and in consultation with the
Workforce Development Douncil and the legislative Joint Fiscal Office, shall
develop, to the extent appropriate, a common set of benchmarks and performance
measures for the training program established in this section and the Workforce
Education and Training Fund established in section 543 of this title, and shall
collect employee-specific data on training outcomes regarding the performance
measures; provided, however, that the Secretary shall redact personal
identifying information from such data.
(2) On or
before January 15, 2013, the Joint Fiscal Office shall prepare a performance
report using the benchmarks and performance measures created pursuant to
subdivision (1) of this subsection. The Joint Fiscal Office shall submit its
report to the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General
Affairs and the House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development.
(3) The
Secretary shall use information gathered pursuant to this subsection and
customer satisfaction reports submitted pursuant to subdivision (c)(4) of this
section to evaluate the program and make necessary changes that fall within the
Secretary's authority or, if beyond the scope of the Secretary's authority, to
recommend necessary changes to the appropriate committees of the General
Assembly.
(j) Consistent
with the training program's goal of providing specialized training and
increased employment opportunities for Vermonters, and notwithstanding
provisions of this section to the contrary, the Secretary shall canvas
apprenticeship sponsors to determine demand for various levels of training and
classes and shall transfer up to $250,000.00 annually to the regional technical
centers to fund or provide supplemental funding for apprenticeship training
programs leading up to certification or licensing as journeyman or master
electricians or plumbers. The Secretary shall seek to provide these funds
equitably throughout Vermont; however, the Secretary shall give priority to
regions not currently served by apprenticeship programs offered through the
Vermont Department of Labor pursuant to 21 V.S.A. chapter 13.
(k) Annually
on or before January 15, the Secretary shall submit a report to the House
Committee on Commerce and Economic Development and the Senate Committee on
Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs summarizing all active and
completed contracts and grants, the types of training activities provided, the
number of employees served, and the average wage by employer, and addressing
any waivers granted. (Added 1977, No. 214 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. April 12,
1978; amended 1981, No. 211 (Adj. Sess.); 1985, No. 172 (Adj. Sess.), § 5;
1989, No. 66; 1991, No. 50, § 230; 1993, No. 89, § 3, eff. June 15, 1993; 1995,
No. 46, § 33; 1995, No. 190 (Adj. Sess.), § 1(b); 1997, No. 66 (Adj. Sess.), §
67a, eff. Feb. 20, 1998; 1997, No. 71 (Adj. Sess.), § 54; 1999, No. 147 (Adj.
Sess.), § 4; 2003, No. 122 (Adj. Sess.), § 233a; 2005, No. 103 (Adj. Sess.), §
3, eff. April 5, 2006; 2005, No. 174 (Adj. Sess.), § 16; 2007, No. 46, § 3,
eff. May 23, 2007; 2009, No. 78 (Adj. Sess.), § 14a, April 15, 2010; 2009, No.
146 (Adj. Sess.), § G13, eff. June 1, 2010; 2011, No. 52, § 10, eff. May 27,
2011.)