FRANKFORT, Ky. — Today, Gov. Andy Beshear highlighted Kentucky’s continued investment in workforce training initiatives as he announced over $1.6 million in state support has been approved through the Bluegrass State Skills Corp. (BSSC) to assist with the training and development of nearly 5,000 Kentucky workers.
“Kentucky is home to an incredibly talented workforce, and it is our job to equip and support them with the skills necessary to do the jobs that we are bringing to the commonwealth,” said Gov. Beshear. “The Bluegrass State Skills Corp. is essential to our workforce training and development, giving employees the tools necessary to be successful and helping our businesses continue to build on Kentucky’s economic momentum.”
Through the BSSC’s Grant-in-Aid and Skills Training Investment Credit programs, over $1.6 million in state support has been approved to train and develop 4,982 Kentucky employees across 25 companies.
This month’s approvals included workforce training support for over 770 employees at Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort and an additional 393 trainees for Franklin Precision Industry in Franklin. Other approvals include 299 trainees at Cumberland Cooperage in East Bernstadt, 227 workers at Sumitomo Electric Wiring Systems in Edmonton, 200 trainees at Goose Creek Candles in Liberty, 190 employees at Piston Automotive in Louisville and 150 workers at Federal-Mogul Motorparts in Glasgow.
Including this month’s meeting, Gov. Beshear has now announced over $19 million in funding through BSSC across 127 projects to train over 42,600 Kentucky workers for fiscal year 2024.
Gov. Beshear previously announced over $10 million for 115 applicants throughout the state to train nearly 35,000 workers for fiscal year 2023. The state also provided over $8.4 million in funds and credits during fiscal year 2022. Those funds assisted with workforce training for more than 35,400 Kentucky employees – the most since 2016.
The Grant-in-Aid and Skills Training Investment Credit programs assist employers throughout the commonwealth. Grant-in-Aid provides cash reimbursements for occupational and skills upgrade training at Kentucky businesses, while the Skills Training Investment Credit offers state income tax credits for companies to offset the costs for approved training programs. Applications for both programs are accepted and considered for approval by the BSSC Board of Directors.
BSSC incentives are available to a range of operations, including manufacturing, agribusiness, nonretail service or technology, headquarters operations, state-licensed hospital operations, coal severing and processing, alternative fuel, gasification, renewable energy production and carbon dioxide transmission pipelines.
For more information on BSSC or to apply for workforce training assistance, click here.
