(a)

1. (1) Arkansas Existing Workforce Training Program applications, whether for tax credits or for direct assistance, will only be accepted and considered for approval when completed by coordinators who have completed the Arkansas Economic Development Commission’s Arkansas Existing Workforce Training Program application training process.

2. (2) These are designated coordinators from:

   1. (A) A state-supported educational institution;
   2. (B) The commission; or
   3. (C) An established training consortium.

(b) Classroom training.

1. (1) For companies or consortia that use state-supported educational institutions to deliver classroom training to their employees, the amount of support, whether in the form of a grant or tax credit, a company or consortium receives shall be the lesser of:

   1. (A) One-half (1/2) of the amount paid by the company/consortia to the state-supported educational institution for the training, or:

(i) One hundred dollars ($100) per instructional hour multiplied by the number of instructional hours and at least fifty percent (50%) of the participants completing each course must be from eligible companies;

1. (ii) Thirty-five dollars ($35.00) per instructional hour multiplied by the number of instructional hours for eligible safety-related training; or

   1. (iii) Thirty-five dollars ($35.00) per instructional hour multiplied by the number of instructional hours for all courses if less than fifty percent (50%) of the participants completing each course are from eligible companies.
2. (2) For companies that use their own employees or company-paid consultants to deliver classroom training to their employees, the amount of the Arkansas income tax credit, set by the governing council, shall not exceed twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per instructional hour.

3. (3)

   1. (A) The minimum class size needed to receive full benefits is five (5) trainees.

   2. (B) For classes smaller than five (5), the amount of support will be reduced proportionally.

      1. (c) Training delivered by means other than classroom training.

4. (1)

   1. (A) Computer-based training, training delivered via interactive videos, or distance learning has variable costs.
   2. (B) Applications involving these types of training will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

5. (2) Applicants must include, at a minimum, but are not limited to, the following information to be considered:

   1. (A) The number of students to be trained;
   2. (B) The number of training hours per student; and

   3. (C) The cost per instructional hour to deliver the training.

      1. (d) Determination of benefits. Using an internal trainer or training consultant paid by the company - (Arkansas Income Tax Credit Only):

6. (1)

   1. (A) For companies that use an internal trainer to deliver classroom training to their employees, the amount of the tax credit shall be based on a rate, set by the governing council, not to exceed twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per instructional hour multiplied by the number of instructional hours delivered.
   2. (B) The company’s cost per instructional hour is determined by adding the company’s cost for the instructor while in class (salary plus fringe), including the company’s cost for expendable materials and supplies for the course;

7. (2)

   1. (A) For companies that use a training consultant to deliver classroom training to their employees, the amount of the tax credit shall be based on a rate, set by the governing council, not to exceed twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per instructional hour multiplied by the number of instructional hours delivered.
   2. (B) The company’s cost per instructional hour is determined by dividing the training consultant’s fees for the eligible training by the number of instructional hours delivered; and
8. (3) If fewer than five (5) trainees attend a course, the instructional hour rate will be reduced proportionally.

(e) Restrictions.

1. (1) The maximum combined Arkansas Existing Workforce Training Program support in the form of financial assistance and/or tax credits for any one-company site (including a company’s participation in a consortium) cannot exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) per calendar year.

2. (2)

   1. (A) The total amount of tax credits that can be approved per calendar year cannot exceed four hundred fifty thousand dollars ($450,000) for all applicants.
   2. (B) Tax credits will be reserved on a tax year basis, but total tax credits approved will not exceed four hundred fifty thousand dollars ($450,000) during any calendar year.
   3. (C) Tax credits will be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis.

3. (3)

   1. (A) An individual application will not be accepted if the financial assistance or tax credit is less than four hundred dollars ($400).
   2. (B) Neither tax credits nor financial assistance checks will be issued for an amount less than four hundred dollars ($400).
4. (4) Courses that contain less than two (2) instructional hours in length will not be eligible for reimbursement.
5. (5) The Arkansas Existing Workforce Training Program does not financially support, directly or indirectly, wages paid by the company to trainees.

6. (6)

   1. (A)

      1. (i) Neither grant funds nor tax credits shall be used to support any training that is mandated by any state or federal law or regulation.
      2. (ii) Certain safety training courses will be allowed.
      3. (iii) The governing council will determine allowable courses.
   2. (B) It is not the intent of this program to support training that does not raise the skills of the workers and increase their earning potential.
7. (7) The Arkansas Existing Workforce Training Program, as a customized industry-specific training program, does not pay tuition costs for company employees who enroll in regular educational institution programs and/or apprenticeship training programs.

8. (8)

   1. (A)

      1. (i) One of the primary objectives of the Arkansas Existing Workforce Training Program is to develop the capacity within our state-supported institutions to meet the customized training needs of businesses and industries.
      2. (ii) Trainers who are full-time faculty or adjunct faculty at a state-supported educational institution meet this objective.
      3. (iii) Persons in the private business of delivering training do not.

   2. (B)

      1. (i) Therefore, the Arkansas Existing Workforce Training Program does not allow training consultants to sell their training services to business and industry and then have the training channeled through a state-supported educational institution after the fact in order to gain a higher rate of reimbursement for the company.
      2. (ii) Therefore, if the instructor is hired in this way, the company will only qualify for a tax credit at a rate, set by the governing council, not to exceed twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per instructional hour.

9. (9)

   1. (A) In situations where full-time employees of an eligible company are also adjunct faculty of a state-supported educational institution and are delivering training to their primary employer, the company cannot claim the higher rate of financial support.
   2. (B) The internal trainer rate applies in this instance.

10. (10)

    1. (A) Tax credits are earned in the tax year in which the training is completed and the final report is received.
    2. (B) Because tax credits cannot be carried forward, a final report for training that concludes within a company’s tax year must be mailed in and received by the commission no later than ten (10) days following the end of the company’s tax year in order to earn the tax credit.
    3. (C) There is an annual limit of four hundred fifty thousand dollars ($450,000) on the total tax credits that can be issued to all companies.
    4. (D) Therefore, tax credits are issued when the final report is received.

11. (11)

    1. (A) Financial assistance is earned in the calendar year in which the training is completed and the final report is received.

    2. (B)

       1. (i) Final reports for financial assistance must be mailed in and received at the commission no later than one (1) month following the completion of training in order to earn financial assistance.
       2. (ii) Final reports that are not received within this time frame will not be accepted and no financial assistance will be earned.

    3. (C)

       1. (i) For applications containing more than one (1) course, the ending date of the last course to be completed will be used as the ending training date.
       2. (ii) The commission must approve any extension of the ending training date or dates.
12. (12) For companies requesting an income tax credit, a single tax credit certificate will be issued within thirty (30) days following the end of the company’s tax year for all projects submitted during that tax year.

(f) Eligibility of training consortia.

1. (1)

   1. (A) A training consortium is a formal organization of businesses and industries, organized to identify common training needs in the community and to arrange customized business/industry-specific training to meet the identified training needs.

   2. (B)

      1. (i) The role of a consortium is to “broker” training for its members.
      2. (ii) It is not the role of a consortium to be a training provider.
      3. (iii) A training provider’s primary function is to provide educational or training services.

2. (2)

   1. (A) A consortium may have members that are not eligible companies as long as at least three (3) of the consortium member companies are eligible companies.
   2. (B) Companies participating in training which are not eligible companies must be joined in the training and complete the training with an equal or greater number of eligible company participants to receive the higher rate of reimbursement.
   3. (C) If the number of eligible participants in a class falls below fifty percent (50%), the amount of assistance is reduced to thirty-five dollars ($35.00) per instructional hour.

3. (3) In order to be recognized as a training consortium, the following conditions must be met:

   1. (A) The consortium must possess a federal Taxpayer Identification Number assigned by the Internal Revenue Service;
   2. (B) The consortium must have officers, elected by the membership, and the person serving as president (director, chairperson, etc.) must sign the application;

   3. (C)

      1. (i) The person signing the application for assistance on behalf of the consortium must be willing to assume fiscal responsibility for expending the assistance funds for the purpose stated in the application.
      2. (ii) If the consortium is a not-for-profit corporation, the board of directors would be the responsible party;
   4. (D) A consortium must maintain and provide a current list to the Arkansas Existing Workforce Training Program’s governing council of the consortium officers, their company affiliation, consortium responsibilities, and designate which officers are fiscally responsible to sign Arkansas Existing Workforce Training Program applications and final reports;
   5. (E) A consortium must provide a list of all the participating businesses, their North American Industry System codes, and the proportion of the total financial assistance allocated to each business following the completion of a training project in order for payment to be made;
   6. (F) When an eligible consortium uses a state-supported educational institution to provide their classroom training, financial support can only be in the form of a grant; and
   7. (G) When training is conducted for one (1) company only, the individual company shall submit the Arkansas Existing Workforce Training Program application.

(g) Eligibility of partnerships.

1. (1) Two (2) or more eligible companies may join together to develop a minimum class size of at least five (5) trainees in order to:

   1. (A) Receive the full financial benefit of the Arkansas Existing Workforce Training Program;
   2. (B) Avoid having the amount of support reduced proportionally; and
   3. (C) Assure the most efficient use of training opportunities.
2. (2) A partnership must provide a list of all the participating businesses, their North American Industry System codes, and the proportion of the total financial assistance allocated to each business following the completion of a training project in order for payment to be made.
3. (3) Unlike consortia, partnerships cannot include ineligible companies.
4. (4) Financial support for eligible partnerships can only be in the form of a grant.

(h) Eligibility of state-supported institutions for train-the-trainer assistance.

1. (1) In most cases, the reasonable costs of training a regular or adjunct faculty member of a state-supported educational institution to deliver company-specific training will be up to fifty percent (50%) of the cost to the educational institution for the training.

2. (2) The following conditions apply:

   1. (A) The costs of upgrading the skills of regular or adjunct faculty (not including the faculty member’s salary) of a state-supported educational institution may be allowed when the skills upgrade is directly related to an industry-specific training project, if:

      1. (i) A documented need exists; and
      2. (ii) No qualified instructor can be found;

   2. (B) The maximum amount allowed for train-the-trainer:

      1. (i) Will depend on the current and anticipated future demands for training in the subject area; and
      2. (ii) Cannot exceed fifty percent (50%) of the institution’s cost; and

   3. (C)

      1. (i) Train-the-trainer will not be approved for an educational institution’s faculty or adjunct faculty to gain the skills needed exclusively to teach a college credit course.
      2. (ii) Assistance for training trainers will be paid directly to the educational institution.