The importance of workforce training has never been greater. As companies think globally, it's imperative that Kentucky's workforce be the very best it can be to remain competitive and provide good jobs for its citizens. The Cabinet’s Bluegrass State Skills Corporation (BSSC) plays a significant role in keeping Kentucky's business and industry competitive in the global economy by assisting them in providing the necessary training for their workforce.

BSSC has built a strong reputation for meeting and exceeding industry needs for customized, flexible and industry-driven skills training. It achieves this by partnering with other employment and training organizations to tailor a comprehensive program of skills training services for new, expanding and existing companies.

BSSC assists business training needs by:

• Administering and funding Kentucky's customized business and industry-specific training efforts through training agreements for Grant-in-Aid and Skills Training Investment Credit projects that are approved by the BSSC Board of Directors;
• Acting as a broker, by coordinating the resources of providers of skills training and employment services;
• Facilitating the creation of public/private partnerships through education and training programs designed to meet unfilled training needs of individual and multiple-company training projects, or consortia; and
• Administering any special state appropriation for customized business and industry-specific training.

The competitive BSSC Grant-in-Aid program provides grants for training of workers of Kentucky’s new and expanding companies and for skills and occupational upgrade training for workers of Kentucky’s existing companies. The Skills Training Investment Credit program offers state tax credits for approved training programs. Applications for both programs are accepted and considered for approval by the BSSC Board of Directors at scheduled meetings throughout the year. Review the Grant-in-Aid Guidelines or Skills Training Investment Credit Guidelines for application deadlines and more detailed program information.

BSSC Board of Directors

BSSC is governed by an 18-member Board of Directors including representatives of business, government, education, and labor. Private-sector representatives comprise more than half the total membership. The Secretaries of the Economic Development, Education and Labor Cabinets, as well as the President of the Council on Post-secondary Education, the President of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, and the Commissioner of the Department of Workforce Investment, serve as ex-officio members on the Board. As required by statute the Board submits an Annual Report to the General Assembly. A list of projects approved by the BSSC Board can be viewed by clicking on the link below.

Training Sessions

BSSC holds one training workshop each year around the end of April/beginning of May. The training session is recorded and placed on the website for future reference. Click Here to view the training video online or here to download a high definition version of the video file.

Click here to view projects approved for training funds.

Click here to download BSSC applications, forms and samples.

Click here to view the Training Provider Directory.

If you have questions or need assistance with the BSSC programs, please contact the BSSC office via e-mail at ced.bsscgrp@ky.gov or call (502) 564-2021.