Workforce Development Board distributing reimbursement funds for on-the-job learning

From Wisconsin Workforce Development Board

The Workforce Development Board of SouthCentral Wisconsin (WDBSCW) is collaborating with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development to help qualifying employers with On-the-Job Learning (OJL) reimbursement awards. Up to $2,500 is available for each qualifying registered apprentice whose contract was activated between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2023. The grant offers Registered Apprenticeship (RA) employers a reimbursement for the costs of training an apprentice. The grants are being distributed through the WDBSCW for the entire state, not just Southcentral Wisconsin.

“The grant is important to thank those employer sponsors for participating in the apprenticeship program and training the future of the workforce,” said Jeff Kennedy, Apprenticeship Navigator at WDBSCW. “What better way to encourage apprenticeship as a pipeline, and employers as apprenticeship sponsors than funds to help them out?”

OJL Reimbursement awards are made possible through federal grant funding through the U.S. Department of Labor and are only available for a limited time.

Eligibility Requirements

An eligible applicant for the OJL reimbursement must be an active Wisconsin RA employer who hired an apprentice on or after July 1, 2019 and fits one of the following categories:

1. Who hired a registered apprentice in the transportation and logistics, financial services, information technology, biotechnology, agriculture, or healthcare sectors; or
2. Is in any industry and hired a graduate from a Certified Pre-Apprenticeship Program as a registered apprentice; or
3. Who hired a graduate/completer of a Wisconsin Youth Apprenticeship in any industry sector as a registered apprentice.

Employers must provide documentation of employment and hours worked during the apprentice’s 90 days of employment and provide documentation of the employer’s lowest journey worker’s wage for each apprenticeship occupation.

Reach out to the Workforce Development Board of South Central Wisconsin for more information, at 608-249-9001 or contact Jeff Kennedy at jkennedy@wdbscw.org.