County’s Workforce Entry and Economic Growth Initiative

The County of San Mateo is seeking a contractor to develop and administer the Workforce Entry and Economic Growth Initiative pilot program. The program aims to increase the hiring of entry-level employees and support private sector small and medium-sized businesses by subsidizing early wages of new full-time hires who recently earned college degrees or trade certificates. The contractor will design, implement, and administer the program, including outreach, application, screening, verification, award, monitoring, and reporting processes. The program has a budget of $2,000,000, with $1,625,000 available for direct subsidies and $375,000 for program design, implementation, and administration. The contractor will be responsible for managing and disbursing program funds, as well as ensuring compliance with applicable state and federal laws. • The program will provide a 50% wage subsidy for the first three months of an eligible employee's employment, paid retroactively as a grant to the employer. • Employers must be private sector, for-profit small or medium-sized businesses with 500 or fewer employees, located in the County, and have at least 70% of work performed in the County. • Employees must have earned an associate's degree, bachelor's degree, or trade certificate within the past three years, be legally authorized to work in the US, and be a County resident. • The program aims to create 200 new full-time private sector jobs for County residents entering or re-entering the workforce after earning a degree or trade certificate.