Current through Register 1536, December 6, 2024
Section 14.07 - Approval of Training Grant Applications(1) In determining whether to approve a training grant application, the commissioner will consider the following:(a) whether the project will increase the skills of low-wage, low-skilled workers;(b) whether the project will create or preserve jobs at wages sufficient to support a family;(c) whether the project will have a positive economic impact on a region with high levels of unemployment or a high concentration of low-skilled workers;(d) whether the employer has made a commitment to provide significant private investment in training during the duration of the grant and after the grant has expired;(e) whether the project will supplement, rather than replace, private investments in training; (f) whether the employer is a small business that lacks the capacity to provide adequate training without such assistance;(g) whether the project will provide residents of the commonwealth with training for jobs that could otherwise be filled only by residents of other nations;(h) whether the project is consistent with the workforce development blueprint prepared by the regional employment board;(i) whether the application was developed with employee participation; and(j) any other factors as deemed relevant by the commissioner.(2) In making the determination, the commissioner shall seek the advice and recommendations of the Workforce Training Fund Advisory Panel and the applicable Regional Employment Board.(3) To satisfy the requirements of 430 CMR 14.07(1)(d), an applicant must show to the satisfaction of the commissioner that it has made a commitment to provide an investment in training of its employees in an amount at least equal to the amount of the sought grant. Such investment may be either cash or in-kind; and includes those costs newly incurred by applicants as a direct consequence of undertaking the training for which a grant is being sought, but does not include any of an applicant's on-going costs of doing business if such costs are not directly related to this training. The commissioner may waive this investment requirement, in whole or in part, upon a showing of good cause. In determining whether to grant a waiver, the commissioner shall consider how the grant application otherwise satisfies the factors listed in 430 CMR 14.07(1).(4) The commissioner shall not approve any grant application which exceeds $250,000 or which is for a period that exceeds two years.