Kentucky State Seal

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*OFFICE OF GOVERNOR ANDY BESHEAR*

*COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY*








*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*




*Contact:*?

*Crystal Staley*
*502-545-3714*

*Brandon Mattingly
502-782-2006*






*Gov. Beshear: Nearly $2 Million in Incentives Approved To Provide Workforce Training for Nearly 7,000* *Kentucky Trainees*

"Companies across Kentucky invest in workforce initiatives"

*FRANKFORT, Ky. (Aug. 9, 2023) *? Today, Gov. Andy Beshear highlighted Kentucky?s continued investment in workforce training initiatives as he announced nearly $2 million in funds and credits to assist the training of nearly 7,000 Kentucky workers.

?One of Kentucky?s greatest strengths is its talented, skilled workforce,? said *Gov. Beshear*. ?This funding will provide nearly 7,000 Kentuckians with the training they need to succeed. Staying competitive and building on the commonwealth?s historic economic momentum starts with our state?s talented and motivated workforce. Programs like the Bluegrass State Skills Corporation are crucial to ensuring Kentucky?s future success.?

The approvals were part of the first Bluegrass State Skills Corporation (BSSC) meeting of fiscal year 2024. Included among this month?s approvals was workforce training support for 1,000 trainees at Bowling Green Metalforming LLC and 820 trainees for Louisville Seating in Shepherdsville. Three separate hospitals also received support for over 620 trainees at Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital in Somerset, 450 trainees at Clark Regional Medical Center in Winchester and 130 trainees at Bourbon Community Hospital in Paris. Other approvals include support for 250 trainees at James Marine Inc. in Paducah, 200 trainees at Dr. Schnieder Automotive Systems Inc. in Russel Springs and 200 trainees at Waystar Inc. in Louisville.

Gov. Beshear previously announced over $10 million in funding for 115 applicants throughout the state to train nearly 35,000 workers for fiscal year 2023. The state also provided over $8.4 million in funds and credits during fiscal year 2022. Those funds assisted with workforce training for more than 35,400 Kentucky employees.

The BSSC?s Grant-in-Aid (GIA) and Skills Training Investment Credit (STIC) programs assist employers throughout the commonwealth. GIA provides cash reimbursements for occupational and skills upgrade training at Kentucky businesses, while STIC offers state income tax credits for companies to offset the costs for approved training programs. Applications for both programs are accepted and considered for approval by the BSSC Board of Directors.

BSSC incentives are available to a range of operations, including manufacturing, agribusiness, nonretail service or technology, headquarters operations, state-licensed hospital operations, coal severing and processing, alternative fuel, gasification, renewable energy production and carbon dioxide transmission pipelines.

For more information on BSSC or to apply for workforce training assistance, visit the BSSC webpage [ [link removed] ].

Kentucky?s investment in workforce training furthers recent economic momentum in the commonwealth.

Gov. Beshear recently_ _announced [ [link removed] ] that his administration secured the largest General Fund budget surplus and Rainy Day Fund, as well as the most jobs filled in state history.

The General Fund budget surplus at the end of fiscal year 2023 was more than $1.55 billion. Nearly all of the $1.55 billion surplus will go into the commonwealth?s Rainy Day Fund, bringing the fund to a record balance of $3.7 billion ? a 2,700% increase since Gov. Beshear took office in 2019.

Gov. Beshear also announced [ [link removed] ] an increase of 6,400 jobs filled, bringing the commonwealth to 2,015,600 filled jobs in June. That is a record number of nearly 60,000 more jobs filled than before the pandemic.

This year, the Governor announced [ [link removed] ] that Kentucky set the record for the longest period with the lowest unemployment rates in state history. On May 18, Gov. Beshear announced [ [link removed] ] that Kentucky set a new historic low unemployment rate of 3.7%, which is the lowest rate ever recorded in the commonwealth.

Since the beginning of his administration, Gov. Beshear has announced more than 870 private-sector new-location and expansion projects totaling approximately $26.8 billion in announced investments.

The robust job creation has been accompanied by rising wages across the commonwealth. The average incentivized hourly wage in 2022 was $26.78 before benefits, the second-highest mark since 2010 and an 11.5% increase over the previous year.

The Governor also secured the best two-year period in state history for economic growth and announced the two largest economic development projects in state history. In September 2021, Gov. Beshear and leaders from Ford Motor Co. and SK On celebrated [ [link removed] ] a transformative $5.8 billion investment that will create 5,000 jobs in Hardin County. In April 2022, the Governor was joined by leadership at AESC to announce [ [link removed] ] a $2 billion investment that will create 2,000 jobs in Warren County. These announcements solidify Kentucky as the EV battery production capital of the United States.

That position was strengthened even further in May 2023, when the Governor and leaders at Toyota announced [ [link removed] ] a $591 million investment across multiple projects as the company?s largest manufacturing operation in Georgetown introduces its first battery electric vehicle. Growth within the EV sector continued into June as Gov. Beshear joined INFAC North America to break ground [ [link removed] ] on the company?s $53 million investment to support EV-related production in Campbellsville.

Over a two-month period this year, Kentucky secured two credit rating increases from major agencies. On May 12, Gov. Beshear announced [ [link removed] ] that his administration obtained the first state-level credit rating upgrade in 13 years and the first-ever upgrade from Fitch Ratings. On June 29, Gov. Beshear announced [ [link removed] ] the commonwealth received its first-ever rating increase from S&P Global Ratings.

Site Selection magazine recently placed Kentucky first in the South Central region and top-5 nationally in its 2023 Prosperity Cup ranking, which recognizes state-level economic development agencies for their success in landing capital investment projects. The publication also placed Kentucky second nationwide and first in the South Central region for its annual Governor?s Cup ranking for 2022, which recognizes state-level economic success based on capital investments.

Gov. Beshear recently announced a new ?Supply Kentucky [ [link removed] ]? initiative with the goal of boosting job growth, reducing costs and providing more security in the supply chains of our Kentucky companies.

Information on Kentucky?s economic development efforts and programs is available at "CED.ky.gov" [ [link removed] ]. Fans of the Cabinet for Economic Development can also join the discussion at "facebook.com/CEDkygov" [ [link removed] ]", on Twitter ""@CEDkygov" [ [link removed] ]", Instagram ""@CEDkygov" [ [link removed] ]" and ""LinkedIn" [ [link removed] ].

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