Forsyth County is home to one of the lowest unemployment rates in our region, and one of the highest high school graduation rates in the nation. We offer a wide range of resources to assist your company with developing its workforce.
Our workforce development incentives include such resources as:
- Complimentary assistance screening eligible candidates for jobs
- Complimentary employee training via Georgia’s QuikStart program (covers up to 100% of training costs)
- Complimentary skills assessments for all new and existing employees
- Retraining tax credits (up to $1,250 per employee per year)
- Hiring/ Employee recruitment assistance via partnerships with the Georgia Department of Labor, the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute, Lanier Technical College, and the Governor's Office of Workforce Development
Further details about each program are listed below:
Georgia Works
Georiga Works (GW) is a Georgia Deparment of Labor (GDOL) initiative designed to stimulate job growth in Georgia. The Georgia Department of Labor developed this innovative project to encourage job creation in Georgia. The initiative allows eligible unemployment insurance (UI) claimants to simultaneously receive on-site workplace training, UI benefits, and a special training allowance of up to $240.
For more information about Georgia Works CLICK HERE.
Complimentary Employee Training
Georgia’s nationally-ranked employee training program, Quick Start, provides customized training for new employees in skill-based jobs at no cost to qualifying companies. The training program is given to the company for its future use. Quick Start provides training space, instructors and all needed materials related to the program, potentially saving companies millions of dollars in training costs. www.GeorgiaQuickStart.org
Complimentary Skills Assessments
The Georgia Work Ready initiative was launched in August 2006 by Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce to improve the job training and marketability of Georgia’s workforce and drive future economic growth for the state. This workforce development initiative assesses the “real world” skills of Georgia’s workers, provides valuable job training and helps companies reliably match the right people with the right jobs.
As part of the Work Ready initiative, Georgia workers can earn a Work Ready Certificate after completing a free assessment, which utilizes the nationally accredited WorkKeys® assessment developed by ACT to measure individual workers’ skills in the areas of applied mathematics, reading for information, locating information and work habits. Businesses can then leverage Work Ready Certificates to determine whether prospective employees have the right skills for their specific job requirements.
For more information visit www.gaworkready.org.
Retraining Tax Credit
A company’s direct investment in training can be claimed as a tax credit. The credit is available to all Georgia businesses that file a Georgia income tax return. Fifty percent of the employer’s direct cost, up to $500 per full-time employee, per approved training program, may be claimed as a credit. The total amount of credit cannot exceed $1,250 per employee per year. Training programs must be approved by the Technical College System of Georgia, including our local campus – Lanier Technical College. The retraining program must be for quality and productivity enhancements and certain software technologies. This tax credit can be used to offset up to 50 percent of a company’s state corporate income tax liability. Unused credits can be carried forward for 10 years. These credits can be combined with other tax credits.
For more information about the Retraining Tax Credit CLICK HERE.
Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit allows for employers that hire veterans to access up to $14,000 in federal tax credits. This tax credit is available to companies that hire certified veterans between November 22, 2012 and January 1, 2013.
For more information about the Work Opportunity Tax Credit CLICK HERE.
Hiring Assistance
The Cumming-Forsyth Chamber of Commerce is pleased to partner with local staffing agencies, Georgia’s Department of Labor (GDOL), and Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute to assist companies in recruiting local talent. Common services include, but are not limited to:
- posting job notices
- identifying a pool of certified applicants
- collecting and screening applications and/or résumés
- providing interview spaces
- scheduling interviews
- hosting job fairs