The program objectives in administering the Skills Development Fund are:
  (1) to ensure that funds from the program are spent in all local workforce development areas (workforce areas) of this state and expand the state's capacity to respond to workforce training needs;
  (2) to promote collaboration and awareness of potential workforce activities in workforce areas;
  (3) to develop projects that, at completion of the training, will result in wages equal to or greater than the prevailing wage of individuals with similar knowledge and experience in that occupation in the local labor market for the participants in the customized training project;
  (4) to prioritize the processing of grant requests from workforce areas where the unemployment rate is higher than the state's annual average unemployment rate;
  (5) to sponsor creation and attraction of high-value, high-skill jobs for the state that will facilitate the growth of industry and emerging occupations; and
  (6) to the greatest extent practicable, award Skills Development Fund grants as follows:
    (A) Approximately 60 percent of the funds may be for job retention training.
    (B) The remaining funds may be for training for job creation.

Source Note: The provisions of this §803.13 adopted to be effective January 29, 2003, 28 TexReg 751; amended to be effective January 9, 2006, 31 TexReg 174; amended to be effective January 25, 2021, 46 TexReg 580