Small business growth training in Virginia, funded by the state.
SCALE UP is 50 hours of live, virtual growth training for Virginia business owners, built around strategy, team, marketing, lead generation and AI. Virginia's Incumbent Worker Training program reimburses up to 90 percent of training costs for employers with 50 or fewer employees, and unlike most states it sets no annual cap per employer. Answer four questions and see where you stand.
Takes 60 seconds. No email required to see your result.
The state covers most of the training. Your share is wages you already pay.
Virginia funds Incumbent Worker Training through its fourteen Local Workforce Development Boards, the Virginia Career Works regions, under Virginia Board of Workforce Development Policy 15-00. Your board reimburses the training and your company covers the non-federal share, which may be paid in-kind including the wages your employees earn while they are in the sessions. Virginia sets no annual cap per employer, which is unusual, and it means a company can come back for a second cohort without hitting a ceiling.
| Company size | Virginia reimburses | Your share |
|---|---|---|
| 50 or fewer employees | 90% | 10% |
| 51 to 100 employees | 75% | 25% |
| More than 100 employees | 50% | 50% |
Your share is payable in cash or in-kind, and the wages your employees earn during training hours count toward it.
The rates above are set by state policy and hold across Virginia. Each board sets its own criteria and funding guidelines beneath that policy, including how much it will fund per employee, so the figure that applies to your company is a question for your board. Awards are subject to eligibility, board approval and available funds, none of which Skayle 360 controls.
Three steps, and the application is handled on a call.
A 15-minute call
Chris confirms whether your company qualifies, identifies which of the fourteen Virginia boards covers your locality, and checks that the training fits where your business is. If it does not, you will hear that.
You apply together
A 20 to 30 minute working session to prepare your board's request: the provider, the number of attendees, and the business case. Boards look for advancement opportunity and benefit to the company.
Your cohort starts
Once your board votes and the contract is signed, your seats are confirmed. Live Zoom sessions with up to fifteen companies, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:00 to 3:30 PM ET.
Boards meet late in the month, and several will call a special meeting for a time-sensitive request. Training cannot start before the board votes and the contract is executed, so the four weeks is a floor rather than a target. Worth knowing up front: approval is a board decision and is not guaranteed, which is a question to settle early rather than late. The Winter 2027 room is capped at fifteen companies.
175+ companies. 300+ executives trained.
▶
▶
▶Fifty hours of live training, and the plans you build inside it.
Five sequential courses, ten hours each, live on Zoom. Strategy shapes marketing, marketing shapes lead generation, and AI multiplies all four. The order is the point.
Strategic Planning
You build a one-year strategic growth plan, your USP, core values, vision and company scorecards.
Building Your Team
Culture, retention, accountability and the practices that let your team decide without you in the room.
Marketing Strategy
Buyer personas, differentiation, the customer decision journey and a written one-year marketing plan.
Lead Generation
Website conversion, SEO and paid, retargeting, email, social and sales enablement working as one system.
AI for Growth
Prompting, agents and applying AI to the plans you just built, so a small team does the work of a bigger one.
25+ growth templates. One executable plan.
Nothing here is theoretical. Every course ends with a template you fill in live, in session, for your own organization. By the last session those documents come together into a plan that is already in motion, and a lead generation engine with AI running through it.
Strategic Planning
- 1-Year Strategic Growth Plan
- USP and brand positioning
- Customer personas
- Vision and values
- Strategic scorecards
- SWOT analysis
Building Your Team
- Right person, right seat
- 5 Dysfunctions assessment
- Employee engagement survey
- Recognition program
- Meeting best practices
Marketing Strategy
- Full marketing strategy
- Customer decision journey
- Five Forces analysis
- Differentiation template
- Paid, owned, earned plan
- Tactical marketing calendar
Lead Generation
- Website conversion audit
- SEO and paid media plan
- Email marketing playbook
- Sales enablement toolkit
- Lead generation roadmap
AI for Growth
- Custom AI roadmap
- AI prompt library
- AI-generated content library
- AI tools stack
- Prompt best practices
- 1-Year growth plan, AI assisted
The templates, 650+ training slides, 50 hours of recordings and your completed plans. The capability stays inside your company after the cohort ends, which is the part an agency never leaves behind.
The questions Virginia owners ask first.
Who actually provides the funding?
Your Local Workforce Development Board. Virginia has fourteen of them, the Virginia Career Works regions, working under one statewide policy from the Virginia Board of Workforce Development. The rates hold everywhere, and the board that covers your locality reviews and approves the request. On the 15-minute call you will find out which board that is.
What does it cost our company?
Enrollment is $15,000 for the five-course program. Under state policy the board reimburses 90 percent of training costs for employers with 50 or fewer employees, 75 percent from 51 to 100, and 50 percent above that. Your share can be paid in-kind, which usually means the wages your employees earn while they are in the sessions rather than a check.
How much will our board fund per employee?
That is set locally. State policy puts no cap on an employer or a participant, but each board sets its own funding guidelines underneath it, and some apply a per-employee range. It is the first question to ask your board, and it is one of the things the call is for.
Does Skayle 360 need to be on Virginia's approved provider list?
No. Incumbent worker training is exempt from the state's Eligible Training Provider List. Your company applies and names the provider it has chosen, which is why the application is yours rather than ours.
What will the board want to know?
Three things: whether the training creates advancement opportunity for the people attending, what the benefit to the company is, and how the training connects to your competitiveness. The strongest applications answer those in plain language, with the business case stated in your own numbers.
Who counts as an incumbent worker?
A paid employee, eighteen or older, who has been with your company six months or more and works at a Virginia facility. In a cohort, the majority of attendees need to meet the six-month rule.
How long does approval take, and do we pay first?
Allow at least four weeks before training begins. Boards meet late in the month and several will call a special meeting when the timing is tight. Virginia runs as cost reimbursement, and the turnaround is set by your board rather than the state, so confirm the payment timing with them before you commit.
Is this consulting? Will someone do the work for us?
No. The funding is for training, not consulting. You and your team do the work in the sessions, using the templates and your own numbers. Chris teaches, answers your questions and keeps the room on time.
How much time does the training take?
Fifty hours across five courses: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:00 to 3:30 PM ET, from January 19 to March 25, 2027. Sessions are live on Zoom with up to fifteen companies, and you work on your own business in each one.
Book your 15-minute eligibility call.
Pick a time that suits you. Chris will check whether Virginia's Incumbent Worker Training program can cover SCALE UP for your company, name the board that serves your locality, and walk you through the next step. No prep needed.
Prefer the phone? (888) 209-1360 · cciunci@skayle360.com
Calendar not loading? Open the booking page