By Steve Knight | The Herald-Zeitung 

New Braunfels City Council members on Monday approved an economic incentive agreement that would bring 40 jobs and a corporate headquarters to New Braunfels. 

The proposed agreement with United Career Training LLC, which operates information technology training centers across the country, authorizes up to $85,000 to create and retain up to 40 primary full-time jobs at its New Braunfels facility though 2023. 

Average salaries at the facility are expected at around $60,000. According to Jeff Jewell, the city’s economic and community development director, the company would also commit to investing $2.4 million by Sept. 1 to rehabilitate a New Braunfels facility on Landa Street, which will serve as the company’s corporate headquarters.

“The company has seen significant growth in developing delivery and online instruction,” Jewell said.

The company would also agree to maintain the corporate headquarters in New Braunfels for at least three years. According to Jewell, the company identified a need to locate a training center closer to clients in and around New Braunfels who are unwilling to commute to San Antonio or Austin to attend a training center.  He said the company also wanted to provide space to grow a team of inside sales representatives that will sell training services to medium and small clients across existing and new market areas from a centralized location. 

The space would allow management team members to live and work in New Braunfels, according to Jewell. At least five of seven of the company’s management team have relocated or are actively exploring New Braunfels. The agreement also includes a clause that if the company fails to meet the minimum job requirement or minimum payroll requirement, the incentives would be reduced by $1,000 per position. United Career Training will have a $2 million payroll in 2020, and company officials expect that to grow to nearly $2.9 million by 2023.

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