(a) The purpose of Office of Skills Development grants is to:

1. (1) Strategically invest in all levels of the Arkansas workforce, from students to incumbent workers, raising education and skill levels, meeting the needs of companies operating in Arkansas, and balancing workforce and employer interests, leading to greater economic achievement for workers and companies;

2. (2) Create a strategic grants program that:

   1. (A) Targets Arkansas businesses, educational institutions, and other stakeholders, funding economically relevant training and educational efforts;
   2. (B) Incentivizes the foregoing to strategically align, partner, and propose solutions to quantified needs in the Arkansas workforce; and
   3. (C) Through which the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet and its members can proactively work with businesses, educational institutions, each other, and other stakeholders to design such strategic alignments and partnerships;
3. (3) Provide matching funds that leverage private sector investments in the Arkansas workforce; and
4. (4) Collaborate with the Career Education and Workforce Development Board, as well as the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet and its individual members, to maximize effective and efficient use of all Arkansas workforce development programs and funds.