General Program Guidelines
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
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General Program Guidelines & Requirements
Eligibility Requirements
Eligible Employers
- Massachusetts employers of any size may apply.
- Only organizations that contribute to the Workforce Training Fund are eligible to participate.
Note: All private, for-profit employers required to contribute to the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund in Massachusetts also contribute to the Workforce Training Fund, as do some non-profits.
- Non-profits that select the contributory method to finance Unemployment Insurance are eligible.
- Non-profits that select the reimbursable method are not eligible.
- No federal, state, or local government entities are eligible.
Required Documentation
Applicants must provide:
- A Certificate of Good Standing from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (less than 6 months old).
- Consortium applicants: each participating company must provide its own certificate.
- A Certificate of Compliance from the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) Unemployment Services for Employers portal. Click here to learn how to get yours.
- Certificates must show the business’s full legal name and FEIN, verify Workforce Training Fund contributions, and be current at the time of submission.
- A signed Form W-9 listing the current legal business name and FEIN (signature must be less than one year old).
Applicants must be in full compliance with all obligations to:
- The Department of Unemployment Assistance
- The Department of Industrial Accidents, and
- Any other obligations to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Additional Eligibility Conditions
- Applicants or training providers debarred from doing business with the Commonwealth are not eligible.
- Companies must be in operation, with employees, long enough to have at least two full years of financial statements and demonstrate financial viability to carry out grant commitments throughout the life of a grant.
- The two most recent completed years of the company Financial Statements may be required.
- WTFP staff will complete a compliance review to determine eligibility for cash advances or reimbursement-only funding.
- WTFP policy does not allow organizations to participate in the Express Program and the General Program at the same time. We encourage applicants to choose the option that best fits their training needs and funding goals.
- Eligible Massachusetts businesses cannot have an active Express Program grant in progress and receive a new General Program grant without first completing training and closing out any active Express grants.
- Grant recipients are not eligible for a new General Program grant until one year has elapsed from the close of a prior General Program training grant.
- The grant close occurs when all required documents are submitted and approved.
- WTFP Policy prohibits General Program funding for topics addressed in a prior WTFP grant (including the Express Program) for five years following the grant closeout.
- Exception: ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) may be included in consecutive grants.
- Exception: ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) may be included in consecutive grants.
Application Requirements
Grant Request and Required Company Match
Applicants may request between $10,000 and $200,000.
- Applications are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year (subject to available funds).
- Grantees must demonstrate a $1-to-$1 matching investment, including wages paid during training hours.
- Training must occur on company time, with participants paid their normal pay rate.
- Grants must be completed within two years or less.
Use of Grant Funds
Grants should fund strategic, focused training that would not otherwise occur.
- Funds should supplement, not replace, private investment in training.
- The grant covers the cost of instruction (training provider’s fee) only.
- Consortium applications are updated automatically to receive up to 10% of the total grant for administrative costs (see consortium section).
- Funds may not be used for:
- Employee wages, consulting services, coaching, exam fees, tuition reimbursement, or one-on-one training.
- Cost for preparation, planning, travel, or post-contract expenses.
Training Cost Guidelines
- Maximum rate: $300/hour of instruction (including materials).
- Example: For an 8-hour course costing $3,600, $2,400 may be covered by the grant and $1,200 by the employer match.
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Average cost per participant in an application: may not exceed $3,000.
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Company Match requirement:
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Typically met through trainee wages and fringe cost of benefits.
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* ESOL exception: ESOL modules do not require dollar-for-dollar matching if the rest of the application meets the match requirement.
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For example, if the total grant request is $100,000, with $50,000 designated for ESOL, the matching funds for the non-ESOL modules must total at least $50,000.
If your training plan includes ESOL please click here to review the policies and best practices.
Training Standards
- Proposed training should use best practices, be reasonably priced, and align with business objectives.
- Most WTFP-funded training is instructor-led, group-based.
- Self-paced/asynchronous training is limited to 30% of the total course hours.
- Training may only begin after a grant is awarded, and a contract executed.
- Expenses incurred before or after the designated contract period will not be eligible to be paid for with grant funds.
- Applications that are incomplete or ineligible will not be considered.
- Funding decisions are generally made within 60 days of application submission.
Consortium Applications
A consortium application consists of two or more employer organizations applying collaboratively with similar training needs.
Eligible Consortium Leads
The lead applicant must be one of the following:
- A participating employer whose employees will be trained;
- A non-profit intermediary organization with workforce development or industry training expertise (e.g., business leagues, chambers of commerce, charitable organizations);
- A community college;
- A labor organization; or
- A public entity/intermediary organization such as a Workforce Investment Board with relevant expertise.
The lead applicant enters into the contract with Commonwealth Corporation and is responsible for grant funds, reporting, and compliance.
- Consortium grants will include an additional 10% (up to 20,000) to support grant administration costs. This grant management fee will be automatically added to the total of the grant funds requested.
- Training providers acting as the consortium lead can not use grant funds for consortium administration.
General Program Disclosures
Workforce Training Fund administrators may conduct post-training evaluations to assess the effectiveness of grant-funded training.
- Grantees may be required to provide participant-level data and other relevant information.
- Sensitive information (e.g., trade secrets, commercial or financial data) disclosed in connection with a WTFP grant is protected from public records under the law authorizing the program.
- Financial statements and individual employee earnings information are protected.
- Applicants should identify any additional proprietary or confidential information in their applications.
Training Grants for Massachusetts employers of any size to upskill employees
The Workforce Training Fund Program (WTFP) provides grants to help Massachusetts employers address business productivity and competitiveness by funding training for current and newly hired employees.
Applicants are expected to focus on supplemental training and commit to private investment in training during and after the grant period.
Training funded by WTFP should address the following priorities:
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Training that results in job retention, job growth, or increased wages.
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Training that improves a company’s productivity, competitiveness, and ability to do business in Massachusetts.
Grants are competitively awarded to Massachusetts employers (or consortia of employers) to train current and newly hired full-time or part-time employees (incumbent workers).
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The competition for General Program Training Grants is strong. Funding is awarded on a case-by-case basis, and other restrictions may apply.
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Employers are encouraged to apply for grants that include Adult Basic Education (ABE), English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), and Climate Change Resiliency / Green Economy.
Please carefully review these guidelines before applying. It's critical that applicants understand all guidelines. By submitting an application, employers agree to all terms in these guidelines.