The Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced in a recent press release almost $1.3 million in Wisconsin Fast Forward worker training grants.
The worker training grants will help support 12 employers and serve up to 714 trainees in the high-demand sectors of manufacturing and transportation. Many of the projects are made possible through partnerships with community organizations, local employers, and industry associations.
The Wisconsin Fast Forward standard grant program awards funds to Wisconsin businesses to reimburse costs associated with occupational training. The grants cover training costs for those who are unemployed or underemployed, as well as for incumbent workers. Participants who successfully complete the training program will gain opportunities for employment, higher-level employment, or increased wages.
In the 2023 fiscal year, DWD’s Office of Skills Development awarded and administered more than $5.1 million in Wisconsin Fast Forward grants for up to an estimated 2,139 trainees.
Grants range from $5,000 to $400,000, and projects require a 50% cash or in-kind employer match. The grant program is open to all industry sectors. The training must provide transferrable skills.
To receive funding, employers must meet these minimum requirements:
- Eighty-five percent of the participants must complete training;
- Sixty-five percent must gain employment (the unemployed, hired and the underemployed, promoted); and
- Seventy-five percent of incumbent trainees must receive pay raises.
Additional information about Wisconsin Fast Forward is available online.
