Idahoan Foods, which in the past year opened new headquarters in downtown Idaho Falls, is due to receive up to $240,000 from the state's Workforce Development Training Fund to train 60 new workers.
The Idaho Department of Labor said its commitment, averaging $4,000 per new employee, will enable the maker of dehydrated mashed, au gratin, scalloped and hash-brown potatoes to expand its payroll to 109. The new jobs pay an average of $14.84 an hour.
Financed by employers through a 3 percent set-aside on unemployment insurance taxes, the fund reimburses companies for the costs of training employees for new jobs if the jobs pay at least $12 an hour and include employer-provided health care. Reimbursements can also be made for training workers who face being laid off from their current jobs if their skills are not upgraded.
Companies must produce a product or service that is marketed outside their region or be in the health care sector.
Since its inception in 1996, the fund has reimbursed 200 companies more than $38 million for training almost 20,000 workers.