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Workforce Funding + Resources

Funding for Nevada Businesses to Support Work-Based Learning

The Governor’s Office of Workforce Innovation (OWINN) has summarized the various buckets of funding available for businesses below to help cultivate a skilled, diverse, and aligned workforce across diverse populations such as adults, youth, ex-offenders, individuals with disabilities, veterans, and many more. Please keep checking as we list more funding opportunities.

Silver State Works

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To build a trained workforce that enhances Nevada’s economic stability and benefits participating employers, Silver State Works is an initiative that creates opportunities by providing incentives to businesses to hire pre-screened qualified workers.

Funding Type

Employer Financial Incentive

Amount Available to Businesses

Silver State Works provides employers with two incentive options:

Employer Incentive Job Program

  • The State will reimburse a company up to a maximum of 50 percent of the new employee’s agreed upon gross wage for the contract period (usually 4-6 weeks) based on the time estimated to complete the training.
  • The new employee must be paid at least $10.00 per hour and work for at least 30 hours per week (40 hours maximum).

Incentive-Based Employment

  • Provides companies with up to $2000 in financial incentives per eligible new hire, payable in monthly increments of $500 per month for up to 4 months.
  • The new employee must be paid at least $10.00 per hour and work at least 120 hours in a 30-day period.

Minimum Requirements

Potential new hires must be unemployed and meet one of the following six criteria prior to their start date:

  1. Current Unemployment Insurance Claim from any state or be an exhaustee
  2. Ex-Offender of felony status
  3. Receiving Temporary Aide to Needy families (TANF)
  4. Older youth (18-24 years of age)
  5. Self-attest to having a disability
  6. Veteran (180 days of active duty service)

Point of Contact

For more information about Silver State Works, contact the Nevada JobConnect Business Service Office:

Northern Nevada: 775-284-9660

Southern Nevada: 702-486-0129

Visit website

Email Silver State Works

STEM Workforce Challenge Grants

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Through the use of STEM Workforce Challenge Grants, the state seeks to create sustainable partnerships between industry and workforce training providers that are aligned with present and future workforce needs, identify STEM-specific skills needed by Nevada employers, and create programs that provide education and training for these skills.

Funding Type

State General Funds

Amount Available to Businesses

Grant awards range from $25,000 to $500,000

Minimum Requirements

  • Funding is available for entities such as businesses, community colleges, and non-profit workforce training providers
  • Funding must be used to create or expand workforce training programs that result in “middle-skill” industry-recognized STEM degrees and credentials below a Bachelor’s degree (i.e. Associate Degree, certification or credential).
  • Awards are used to fund one-time start-up costs for equipment and capital, programmatic and curriculum development expenses, or initial exam fees for the first cohort.
  • Funding cannot be used for ongoing costs such as instructor’s salaries, student tuition, or consumables.

Point of Contact

For more information about STEM Workforce Challenge Grants, contact Brian Mitchell at the Governor’s Office of Science, Innovation and Technology:

Phone: (775) 687-0987

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Nevada Vocational Rehabilitation

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As a Division of the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, Nevada Vocational Rehabilitation (VR Nevada) works to connect employers with reliable and qualified individuals with disabilities who make outstanding employees with their high levels of performance, retention and attendance. Accessing VR Nevada’s services for hiring people with disabilities is valuable for small, medium and large-sized businesses.

Funding Type

State Funds and Federal Grants and Tax Credits

Amount Available to Businesses

Businesses accommodating people with disabilities may qualify for the following tax credits and deductions:

  • Disabled Access Credit – A non-refundable tax credit for small businesses that incur costs for hiring persons with disabilities. Eligible small businesses are ones that earned $1 million or less or had no more than 30 full time employees in the previous year.
  • Architectural Barrier Removal Tax Deduction – Businesses of any size may claim a deduction of up to $15,000 a year for qualified expenses to remove architectural and transportation barriers to the mobility of persons with disabilities and the elderly.
  • Work Opportunity Credit – Provides eligible employers with a maximum tax credit ranging from $1,200 to $9,600 if they hire qualified individuals from target groups that consistently face significant barriers to employment, including people with disabilities.

Minimum Requirements

Employers can access VR Nevada assistance and consultation services including:

  • Recruitment of Employees with Disabilities
  • Retention of Employees with Disabilities
  • Workplace Accessibility
  • Education and Training on Disability Issues
  • Work Readiness Skills Development
  • Customized On-The-Job Training Strategies
  • Assessments of Assistive Technology Needs
  • Comprehensive Follow-Up Services
  • Accessing Financial Incentives

Point of Contact

For more information, contact Business Development Manager Ken Pierson:

Phone: (775) 823-8110

Email Ken Pierson

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Disabled Access Tax Credit

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The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that employers provide reasonable accommodations to the known physical or mental limitations of a qualified individual with a disability. The Disabled Access Tax Credit helps businesses cover the cost of making access improvements.

Funding Type

Federal Tax Credit

Amount Available to Businesses

Available to businesses that have either revenues of $1 million or less or 30 or fewer full-time employees. Maximum amount of the credit is $5,000.

Minimum Requirements

The credit can be used to cover a variety of expenditures, including:

  • Provision of readers for customers or employees with visual disabilities
  • Provision of sign language interpreters
  • Purchase of adaptive equipment
  • Production of accessible formats of printed materials (i.e. braille, large print, audio tape, computer diskette)
  • Removal of architectural barriers in facilities or vehicles
  • Fees for consulting services (under certain circumstances)

Point of Contact

For more information, please email the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.

Email DETR

Federal Bonding Program

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Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, this program serves as a tool to secure the job placement of ex-offenders and other high-risk applicants by issuing Fidelity bonds to businesses who hire them. These bonds are a “guarantee” to protect the employer in case of any loss of money or property due to employee dishonesty.

Funding Type

Bond

Amount Available to Businesses

  • The bond is given to the employer free-of-charge to insure against any type of stealing by theft, forgery, larceny, or embezzlement.
  • The initial Fidelity bond is issued for a six-month period. A total of $5,000 bond coverage is usually issued, with no deductible amount of liability for the employer.
  • Larger bond amounts can possibly be issued if the certified agency issuing the bonds has determined that larger bond amounts are appropriate.

Minimum Requirements

  • The worker must meet the State’s legal age for working.
  • Workers must be paid wages with Federal taxes automatically deducted from pay.
  • The program will cover any person who is a “risk” due to their being in one or more of the following groups:
    • Ex-offenders with a record of arrest, conviction or imprisonment; anyone who has ever been on parole or probation, and/or anyone who has a police record.
    • Ex-addicts who have been rehabilitated through treatment for alcohol and drug abuse.
    • Anyone with a poor credit record or declared bankruptcy.
    • Persons lacking a work history who come from families with low income.
    • Anyone dishonorably discharged from the military.
    • Anyone who has committed a fraudulent or dishonest act in the past.

Point of Contact

Employers seeking bonding services should visit their website to locate the nearest Nevada JobConnect office.

Visit website

Work Opportunity Tax Credit Program

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The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is a Federal tax credit available to employers who hire individuals from certain target groups who have consistently faced significant barriers to employment. Its purpose is to help targeted workers move from economic dependency into self-sufficiency as they earn a steady income and become contributing taxpayers, while participating employers are able to reduce their income tax liability by as much as $9,600 per employee hired.

Funding Type

Federal Tax Credit

Amount Available to Businesses

  • Maximum tax credit ranges from $1,200 to $9,600
  • Employees must work at least 120 hours in the first year of employment to receive the tax credit
  • There is no limit on the number of individuals an employer can hire to qualify for the credit

Minimum Requirements

Employers can hire eligible employees from the following target groups:

  • Unemployed and Disabled Veterans
  • TANF Recipients
  • SNAP (Food Stamp) Recipients
  • Designated Community Residents (Living In Empowerment Zones or Rural Renewal Counties)
  • Vocational Rehabilitation Referred Individuals
  • Ex-Felons
  • Supplemental Security Income Recipients
  • Summer Youth Employees
  • Qualified Long-Term Unemployment Recipient

Point of Contact

Employers can apply for employer credits under WOTC at their website.

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WINN Funds

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Workforce Innovations for a New Nevada (WINN) is a workforce development training program committed to assisting businesses attain the skilled employees they need. Administered by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED), WINN has invested more than $3 million in developing a highly skilled, highly paid and diverse workforce by authorizing training providers to carry out programs in partnership with Nevada businesses.

Funding Type

State funds

Amount Available to Businesses

  • Employers can request assistance from GOED to connect to an existing training program or develop a custom program to meet their needs.
  • Funding in the form of grants or loans are available to help defray the cost of the training program.
  • Programs requesting less than $100,000 in funding may be reviewed and approved by GOED’s Director. All requests in excess of $100,000 must be reviewed and approved by GOED’s Board.

Minimum Requirements

Program applications are evaluated using the following criteria:

  • Consistency with the state plan for economic development and unified state plan.
  • Support of the industrial and economic development of all geographic areas of the state.
  • Provision of high-skill opportunities to state residents.
  • Connection to high-wage jobs for state residents.
  • Creation of equal opportunities to ensure equity, mobility and sustainability.
  • Extensive industry involvement in program development.
  • Integration with workforce development programming.
  • Measurable outcome projections and workforce diversity action plans.
  • Utilization of materials that are produced or bought in Nevada.

Point of Contact

For more information, contact GOED’s Workforce Development Program Coordinator Stacey Bostwick:

Email Stacey Bostwick

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Workforce Connections

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Workforce Connections is responsible for the operation of the One-Stop Career Center in Southern Nevada. Employers can help eligible adult and youth job candidates from funding available for On-the-Job training (OJT) and Work Experience (WEX).

Funding Type

Federal Funds

Amount Available to Businesses

  • Employers can be reimbursed at least 50% of wages for training OJT job candidates. Reimbursement rates increase for smaller employers. The average reimbursement is up to $2,800 for each job candidate.
  • Service providers spend nearly $200,000 annually to employers to offset cost of training new OJT employees.
  • WEX is a time-limited and wage-paid work experience that provides youth with work experience. The average benefit to the employer is $2,000 of “no-cost” labor per work experience.
  • Service providers typically spend $1.2 million annually to compensate youth

Minimum Requirements

  • All eligible youth qualify for WEX
  • OJT training may be provided to eligible adults and dislocated workers who are unable to obtain or retain employment that leads to economic self-sufficiency.
  • It is expected that after successful completion of OJT training, candidates are hired for full-time employment.

Point of Contact

For more information, contact Workforce Connections at:

Phone: 702-638-8750

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Nevadaworks

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Nevadaworks’ mission is to provide employers in Northern Nevada with a skilled, productive workforce. Employers can benefit from funding available for On-the-Job training (OJT) and Work Experience (WEX) for eligible, adult and youth, employees or candidates.

Funding Type

Federal Funds

Amount Available to Businesses

  • The amount of OJT funding available to employers vary depending on the length of the OJT and the prevailing wage for the position.
  • WEX is a time-limited and wage-paid work experience that provides youth with work experience. The benefit to the employer is dependent on the wage and the length of the WEX (usually not to exceed 12 weeks).

Minimum Requirements

  • All enrolled youth qualify for WEX
  • OJT training may be provided to eligible adults and dislocated workers who are unable to obtain or retain employment that leads to economic self-sufficiency.
  • It is expected that after successful completion of OJT training, candidates are hired for full-time employment.

Point of Contact

For more information on OJT training and WEX, contact Nevadaworks service providers on their website.

Visit website

Nevada Equal Rights Commission

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The Nevada Equal Rights Commission (NERC) oversees the state’s equal opportunity program for the State of Nevada in employment, housing and public accommodations. NERC investigates and attempts to settle discrimination complaints. NERC also provides training and outreach to employers, businesses, and community groups.

Funding Type

State Funds

Amount Available to Businesses

  • NERC provides training and outreach to businesses at no cost.
  • Training topics range from general discrimination to a focus on harassment, sexual harassment, gender identity and expression, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and service animals in public accommodations. NERC can tailor training needed by employers or businesses

Minimum Requirements

Business must be located and operate in Nevada.

Point of Contact

Visit website