Employment Training Agreement (ETAG)

Our primary tool for meeting our mission is the Employment and Training Agreement (ETAG).  The ETAG is part of the loan closing documents at CEI and is critical to the targeting of employment opportunities for people with low incomes as well as other groups in need.

This agreement established between CEI and job generating companies commits employers to target a percentage of newly created jobs to diverse jobseeker candidates, including those transitioning into employment from state assistance programs or people with disabilities, in exchange for access to gap financing.

The foundation for the development of an ETAG with these job-generating businesses is a comprehensive workplace assessment.  This assessment is conducted to screen businesses for financing based on the quality of the employment opportunities, and to gauge management’s commitment to hire from diverse labor pools.

To assess the employment opportunities within the companies seeking financing,  Workforce Solutions staff meets with the business to evaluate the quality and range of jobs, knowledge, skills and abilities required, wages and opportunities for advancement, as well as the timetable for job creation.  Benefits, safety of the work environment, types and nature of employer supported training, use of community or state programs and services, and workforce and business needs are also examined.  Our staff assists businesses to assess their training needs, create plans for the development of their workforce (both new and incumbent workers), and mobilize training resources to support these workforce needs.

When a job opening arises at an ETAG business, CEI notifies a network of workforce development partners serving a variety of job seekers.  CEI brokers training resources and apprenticeship program services for these firms to help train individuals referred through the network of service providers.This approach of utilizing the ETAG has become a national model for other community development organizations formally linking economic development with access to jobs for low-moderate income people.

Since the program's origination in 1983, over 529 ETAGs have yielded 7719 jobs for individuals with low incomes.  Of those, 1456 welfare recipients and 472 people with disabilities have gained employment in companies with an ETAG in place.

A Sample ETAG can be downloaded here.

The ETAG Monthly Report Template can be downloaded here.