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The Gann Museum in Benton, built in 1893, is the only known structure in the world to be constructed of bauxite.
Arkansas Education & Training
The Metro Little Rock region provides wonderful opportunities for Arkansas worker training and education. From state programs to local colleges and universities, there are several options available for businesses and their employees.
State Programs
Business and Industry Training Program (BITP)
The Business and Industry Training Program of the Arkansas Department of Economic Development (ADED) provides pre-employment training for Arkansas workers to meet the skills needed in the state's new and expanding businesses. ADED's Customized Training Incentives Unit works with the department's Business Development Unit during the negotiation process. After a commitment to the state is made, a Customized Training Incentives Coordinator is assigned to develop the training plan with the business.
Eligible Businesses include:
- Manufacturing firms
- National, corporate or regional headquarters
- Distribution centers
- Knowledge-based companies
The Business and Industry Training Program has thee emphases: recruiting workers, pre-employment Arkansas worker training, and on-the-job training.
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Recruiting Workers
The BITP provides financial assistance to recruit the workforce required for new and expanding businesses and industries in Arkansas. Workers are usually recruited through newspaper ads, but other forms of recruitment may be used. The company-specific recruitment can include working with the local Employment Security Department (ESD) office, locating a site to receive applications and providing temporary help for receiving applications.
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Pre-employment Arkasnsas worker Training
ADED has operates a successful pre-employment training program for new and expanding companies, customizing the number of hours and content of the training to fit the specific needs of each company. Pre-employment training is a plus for both the company and the trainees. It gives the trainees an opportunity to look at the company and the job, and the company an opportunity to view trainees before they are hired.
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On-the-Job Arkansas worker Training
Following pre-employment training, if the company hires the trainee, ADED helps pay the instructional costs to train the new employee. Hours of instruction and the number of instructors depend on the types of jobs that require on-the-job training. See specifics below under the Existing Workforce Training Program.
Existing Workforce Training Program (EWTP)
The EWTP provides financial assistance to Arkansas's businesses and eligible consortia of businesses for upgrading the skills of the existing workforce. Skills upgrade training is defined as instruction conducted in a classroom environment at a work site, an educational institution or a neutral location, that provides an existing, full-time employee with the new skills necessary to enhance productivity, improve performance and/or retain employment.
Eligible businesses include:
- Manufacturers in the NAICS codes 31-33
- Computer firms that derive at least 75% of their revenue from sales outside of Arkansas and have no retail sales to the general public
- Firms primarily engaged in commercial, physical and biological research as defined by NAICS code 54710
Financial assistance is available in two forms. For eligible businesses that use a state-supported educational institution, the EWTP provides direct funding or income tax credits up to 50 percent of the cost of training paid to the school or up to $60 per instructional hour, whichever is less. Training Consortia receive the same rate of assistance in the form of direct funding only.
For businesses that use their own employees or company-paid consultants to deliver the classroom training to their employees, the EWTP offers an income tax credit of $15 per instructional hour. Training Consortia that use training providers other than state-supported educational institutions receive direct funding at the $15 per instructional hour rate.
The maximum combined direct funding and income tax credits for any one-company site cannot exceed $50,000 per calendar year.
To apply for EWTP financial assistance, companies and consortia work with a Customized Training Coordinator from the Department of Economic Development or an Education Coordinator from a state-supported educational institution. Customized Training Coordinators and Education Coordinators work with the company to outline their training needs and complete and submit the application.
Workforce Alliance for Growth in the Economy (WAGE)
The Workforce Alliance for Growth in the Economy is composed of local alliances of adult educators and employers that work to identify the competency skills needed in the community's existing and future workforce. Instruction is customized to teach those skills either through the local adult Arkasnsas education program or at the work site.
Tuition Reimbursement Tax Credit
Arkansas provides a 30% state income tax credit to eligible companies for reimbursement they make to employees for approved educational expenses. The employees must attend an accredited Arkansas post-secondary educational institution.
College/University Programs
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is a dynamic metropolitan university with a student population of 11,000 full and part-time students. As an active and integral part of the community, UALR is able to put its students in close contact with the state's most influential leaders in government, business, industry, medicine and information technology. In fact, offering the state's only comprehensive information science and systems engineering program, UALR is a leader in the field of information technology. For more information, visit www.ualr.edu.
The University of Central Arkansas offers business and industry training as part of its Division of Academic Outreach and Extended Programs. To meet industry's need for Arkansas eductaion and training in the changing marketplace, the division provides training opportunities through public offerings and on-site customized classes. For more information, visit www.uca.edu.
The Pulaski Tech Business and Industry Center provides customized business and industry training, computer applications workshops, and management development and supervisory training workshops. The center's goal is to provide a high-quality workforce development program in response to the needs of central Arkansas business and industry. A dean and staff of training specialists are available to provide training and instruction in the areas of mechanical maintenance, industrial electricity, avionics, electronics, aircraft modification, programmable logic controllers, computer applications, management development and supervision.
The Business and Industry Center features industrial labs, educational classrooms, computer labs, a distance-learning lab, conference rooms, and a large seminar room. Training space is available for rental at competitive rates. For more information, visit www.pulaskitech.edu.
UACCM recognizes that the business community has unique training goals that don't always fit into the traditional college structure. Through its Business and Industry Training Program, a business can utilize the college's training expertise in a flexible manner. Arkansas education and training provided through this program is usually non-credit and can normally be customized to business's needs regarding time of day, location, and course content. For more information, visit www.uaccm.edu.
NPCC has provided local businesses with customized training services for many years. Its programs are designed to improve employee skills, enhance productivity and contribute to the economic development of the community. NPCC specializes in Management, Supervisory, Technical, Industrial and OSHA training. For more information, visit www.npcc.edu.
The mission of OTC as it relates to economic development is to be the key provider of services that accomplish the transformation of the region's workforce. This mission is accomplished by implementation of the following principles: leadership; technology; teamwork; innovation; quality and customer orientation. Key elements of its vision include expanding its Arkansas education and training services to include workplace systems that assist and encourage long-term employee training; offering more technologically-advanced courses; providing database-related services, including the development of a technical reference computer library; and offering technology transfer assistance by applying technology in the workplace. For more information, visit www.otcweb.edu.
ASU-Searcy is constantly adapting to strengthen working relationships with business and industry in the area. ASU-Searcy began the ELITE Program in 1998, with industry needs as a basis. ELITE (Entry Level Industry Training Education) is an 8-week program designed to help unemployed and underemployed individuals obtain entry-level jobs with area industries. The curriculum consists of courses that business and industry representatives indicated were needed for entry-level employment.
WorkForce Training Consortium/Arkansas Association of Two-Year Colleges (AATYC)
The goal of the WorkForce Training Consortium of the Arkansas Association of Two-Year Colleges is to meet the specialized local area training needs of businesses and industries on a statewide basis through the collaboration of the 22 AATYC member institutions. Since the formation of the consortium in 1997-98, AATYC's member institutions have grown to serve more than 2,100 businesses annually in Arkansas. The WorkForce Training Consortium and the two-year colleges actively solicit input from the local business communities, from major professional organizations, and from state agencies to identify the current skills training needs of today, the best methods of service response, and how best to prepare for the global economic challenges of the future.