The Governor’s Workforce Board offers Express Incumbent Worker Training Grants for companies that have immediate training needs for their current workforce. Up to $5,000 in matching funds is available to each employer. For example, marine companies have used these funds for off-site training of their employees by product manufacturers. The grants are noncompetitive and are accepted on a rolling basis, and funds are typically awarded within a few weeks of receipt of an application.
The Governor’s Workforce Board also provides partial wage reimbursement to Rhode Island employers through the RI Work Immersion Program. These funds can be used when offering paid internships or hiring grads of training programs, such as the Pre-Apprenticeship Program or those offered by schools such as IYRS, MTTI and New England Tech.
The program will reimburse an employer for 50% of wages paid for an eligible internship of 45-400 hours of work. If an employer hires and retains the student for 12 weeks beyond the completion of the internship, the GWB will reimburse the wages paid during the internship by an additional 25%.
Incumbent Worker Training Grant Program
Thanks to funding from Real Jobs RI, RIMTA has secured a limited amount of incumbent worker training funds. If you are looking to train your current workforce either internally or through an outside trainer, we can reimburse you for up to 50% of the training costs. Reimbursement will occur once the training has been completed and paid for by the company. Click here to fill out the application.
Please note the following:
- Applicants must be RIMTA or CARI members
- Applicants must be a RI employer
- Training must occur AFTER you have been approved for funding
Priority will be given to the following:
- Applicants who have not received incumbent worker training funds in the last year
- Applicants who show that the training is helping to fill a skills gap in the company
Please email questions and/or completed applications to:
Jen Huber