Our Partnership with Empower

Empower Upper Cumberland pioneers the region-wide mission to alleviate poverty in the Upper Cumberland by 2026. Workforce Connections supports Empower by partnering with businesses throughout the Upper Cumberland to bring more sustainable employment opportunities to the program's participants.

As an Empower Partner, we can help employers with:

  • Wage Reimbursement

    Empower Certified Employers can participate in the new Empower Works program- a reimbursement program designed to provide Empower UC participants with meaningful work opportunities while supporting local employers. The program provides Certified Employers financial support to cover participant wages, benefits, supervision, and training. Employers can invoice UCHRA for 50% of participant wages (excluding overtime) for up to 320 hours.

  • Job Promotion Assistance

    When you have a job opening, we list the positions on the Empower Dashboard and promote your job openings directly to the participants of the Empower program. Empower participants are local job seekers ready for work. We communicate weekly with the Empower team to provide them with job updates.

  • Free Poverty Training

    We have collaborated with Poverty Solutions and Empower UC to create an informative training course about the effects of poverty in the workplace, specific to employers in the Upper Cumberland region. The Poverty IQ training helps employers better understand the backgrounds and challenges their workforce may face, enabling them to make more informed decisions that improve employee retention and satisfaction. We offer this for FREE to participating employers.

Learn More about Wage Reimbursement Opportunity!

Does your company qualify?

If your company or organization meets the following qualifications, you could be eligible to become a certified employer with Empower:

  • Entry-level pay of $14.00

  • Offer full-time positions

  • Provide employee benefits packages

  • Allow for career growth opportunities

What are the benefits of a Certified Employer?

  • We will routinely check in and ensure we are promoting your job positions to the Empower program participants, so we can help you efficiently fill your openings.

  • We provide all our Certified Employers with the opportunity to professionally film and produce a recruiting video with a high-quality videographer. Employers have rights to the video, and we use it to promote your company to Empower as well as the community at large.

  • When you hire an Empower UC participant within your company, you may qualify for the wage reimbursement incentive. Empower will pay up to 50% of the first 320 hours of their salary.

Empower Certified Employers