This has been a huge scam with contracting agencies, to the point I've had to reject some offers because the firm had a history of this.
The stinky part is that it's entirely out of your control. Say BigCorp hires WorkCo to staff up 30 positions with LevelIV skill. WorkCo grabs a bunch of people it thinks are LevelIII, sends them out an Official Uptrain Packet[1] to get them to LevelIV. Then BigCorp decides, eh, nah, we'll staff it internally - they pay the penalty to WorkCo and go on their way. Then WorkCo ditches the new hires, charges them for the LevelIV upskill package they sent out. You'll note that there is zero downside risk for WorkCo here.
How much do they charge? Haha, no one knows. None of these skill levels are documented consistently per-company - the GSO has rules, but they're circumvented constantly with all sorts of horseshit adjustments.
[1] Who certifies these is a VERY interesting thing indeed
The stinky part is that it's entirely out of your control. Say BigCorp hires WorkCo to staff up 30 positions with LevelIV skill. WorkCo grabs a bunch of people it thinks are LevelIII, sends them out an Official Uptrain Packet[1] to get them to LevelIV. Then BigCorp decides, eh, nah, we'll staff it internally - they pay the penalty to WorkCo and go on their way. Then WorkCo ditches the new hires, charges them for the LevelIV upskill package they sent out. You'll note that there is zero downside risk for WorkCo here.
How much do they charge? Haha, no one knows. None of these skill levels are documented consistently per-company - the GSO has rules, but they're circumvented constantly with all sorts of horseshit adjustments.
[1] Who certifies these is a VERY interesting thing indeed