Iowa offers grants to companies for skills training with CARES Act funding

Employers could get up to $100,000 for skills training in 'high-demand careers,” Gov. Kim Reynolds said Wednesday, as part of a $5 million investment of CARES Act funding for the Future Ready Iowa Employer Innovation Fund.

Community organizations and not-for-profits are included in the program. Companies can spend the money to 'provide training, books, tools and wraparound support for Iowans engaged in training program in high-demand careers,” according to a news release.

The 'wraparound support” includes child care, transportation and other obstacles of job training.

'The Employer Innovation Fund empowers employers and communities to find creative ways to help workers most affected by the pandemic by identifying local workforce needs and then creating programs that will quickly get people into and out of training to meet those needs,” Iowa Workforce Development director Beth Townsend said in a statement.

Applications will be open until Sept. 16 and are available at futurereadyiowa.gov/innovation. The funding must be spent by the end of the calendar year.

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