What is the Massachusetts Workforce Training Fund?
The Workforce Training Fund Program (WTFP) is a Massachusetts grant program that pays for training current and newly hired employees of Massachusetts businesses. It is funded by employers themselves and administered by Commonwealth Corporation.
Every Massachusetts employer that pays unemployment insurance also contributes to the Workforce Training Fund, which is collected alongside your regular unemployment insurance filings. It costs most businesses a few dollars per employee a year. The fund exists to return that money to businesses as training grants, with the stated goal of improving business productivity and competitiveness.
The program is run by Commonwealth Corporation, a quasi-public agency established in 1996 under the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. Commonwealth Corporation reviews applications, maintains the list of approved courses, signs grant agreements, and processes reimbursements.
The programs inside the fund
"Workforce Training Fund" is an umbrella. Small businesses almost always use the first.
| Program | Best for | Award size |
|---|---|---|
| Express Program | Employers with 100 or fewer MA employees buying individual, pre-approved courses | Up to $3,000 per employee per course, $15,000 per year |
| General Program | Employers of any size running a larger, customized training plan | $10,000 to $200,000, completed within two years |
| Technical Assistance | Specific operational or technical needs | Offered on a very limited basis |
What does the Workforce Training Fund cost my business?
Every Massachusetts employer that pays unemployment insurance also pays a workforce training contribution of 0.056% on the same wages its unemployment contributions are based on. With the $15,000 unemployment wage base, that is at most $8.40 per employee per year. It is the money that funds the grants on this page.
The contribution is set in state law, Massachusetts General Laws chapter 151A, section 14L, and collected alongside your quarterly unemployment insurance contributions. It is not credited to your unemployment account. It goes into a separate fund, and the law directs the state to set the rate so the fund collects about $22 million a year.
Most business owners never notice it because it is so small. That is exactly why the fund is underused: the money going in is barely visible, so few companies think to take it back out.
What you pay in versus what you can get back
| Employees | Paid into the fund each year, at most | Available back through Express each year |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | $42 | $15,000 |
| 10 | $84 | $15,000 |
| 25 | $210 | $15,000 |
| 50 | $420 | $15,000 |
| 100 | $840 | $15,000 |
A ten-person company pays in, at most, about $84 a year. It can be reimbursed up to $15,000 a year for approved training. The rest of this guide explains how.
Who qualifies for the Workforce Training Fund?
For the Express Program: a Massachusetts business with 100 or fewer Massachusetts W-2 employees, a physical location in the state, that pays into the Workforce Training Fund and is current with the Department of Revenue and the Department of Unemployment Assistance. The General Program is open to employers of any size.
Employer requirements
- 100 or fewer Massachusetts W-2 employees for the Express Program. There is no minimum. A business with a single W-2 employee can qualify.
- A physical Massachusetts location, such as an office, factory or warehouse that the business owns or leases in the state.
- Pays into the Workforce Training Fund through its Massachusetts unemployment insurance contributions.
- In good standing with the Department of Revenue and in compliance with the Department of Unemployment Assistance. You prove both with certificates, covered in section 09.
Which employees can be trained
Eligible
- Full-time W-2 employees on your payroll
- Part-time W-2 employees on your payroll
- Remote employees who live outside Massachusetts, if the company pays Massachusetts unemployment insurance for them
- Owners who are paid as W-2 employees of their own corporation
Not eligible
- 1099 contractors
- Temps or employees of another firm
- New hires not yet on payroll when you apply
- Owners who are not W-2 payroll employees, and most sole proprietors
The employee has to be on your payroll under your federal employer ID number on the date you submit the application and throughout the training. The owner rule catches a lot of people: Commonwealth Corporation notes that owners are generally not W-2 payroll employees and are therefore usually not eligible. If you pay yourself through payroll as an employee of your S corporation or C corporation, you are.
What is the Express Program?
The Express Program is the fast, small-grant track of the Workforce Training Fund. You choose a course that is already approved and listed in the Express Course Directory, apply online, and get reimbursed after your employees complete it. There is no waiting period between grants.
Commonwealth Corporation calls Express its "fastest path to funding," built for just-in-time training rather than long strategic projects. The difference from the General Program comes down to one thing: with Express, the course has already been vetted. A training provider registers the course in advance, and you simply apply to fund your employees' seats in it.
That pre-approval is what makes it fast. You are not writing a proposal or building a training plan. You are confirming that your business and your employees are eligible and that the course fits inside the funding caps.
Express Program versus General Program
| Express Program | General Program | |
|---|---|---|
| Employer size | 100 or fewer MA employees | Any size |
| Training | Pre-approved courses from the Express Course Directory | Customized training plan you design |
| Award | Up to $3,000 per employee per course, $15,000 per year | $10,000 to $200,000 |
| Your share | Up to 100% reimbursed | $1-to-$1 match, which can include wages paid during training |
| Timing | Rolling, no wait between grants | Rolling; one year wait after a grant closes before the next |
| Effort | Short online application | Full proposal and review |
Since April 1, 2026 you can run both at the same time, so a growing company can use Express for individual courses while a larger General Program grant funds a broader plan.
How much Workforce Training Fund money is available?
Through the Express Program, an employer with 100 or fewer Massachusetts employees can be reimbursed up to 100% of an approved course, within three caps: $3,000 per employee per course, $300 per instructional hour, and $15,000 per company per calendar year.
| Limit | Amount | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Reimbursement rate | Up to 100% | For employers with 100 or fewer MA employees, including the 51 to 100 tier since April 1, 2026 |
| Per employee, per course | $3,000 | The most one trainee can be funded for one course |
| Per instructional hour | $300 | The course cost divided by its instructional hours cannot exceed this |
| Per company, per year | $15,000 | Total Express awards per calendar year, across all courses |
How the caps work together
All three caps apply at once, and the lowest one wins. The per-hour cap is the one people miss. A 6-hour course cannot be reimbursed above $1,800, even though that is well under the $3,000 per-person limit, because 6 hours at $300 an hour is $1,800.
For courses priced as a flat group rate, Commonwealth Corporation's rule is to divide the total course cost by the number of trainees to get the per-person amount. That has a useful consequence for small businesses:
In other words, on a flat-rate course the company is reimbursed the same amount whether one person attends or several. Sending more of your team costs nothing extra and does not reduce the grant.
What training qualifies for the Workforce Training Fund?
Through the Express Program, a course qualifies if it is listed in the Express Course Directory, is consistent with the purpose of the fund, takes place during working hours, and is not something your business is legally required to provide. Only the cost of delivering the training is covered.
Qualifies
- Courses listed in the Express Course Directory
- Instructor-led training in management, leadership, sales, marketing, technology, AI, operations and technical skills
- Training held during working hours, with employees paid their regular rate
- The direct cost of delivering the training
Does not qualify
- Legally mandated training, such as courses required by OSHA
- Courses taught by the company's owners or their immediate family
- Training that is 100% consulting or coaching
- Courses held outside working hours
- Certifications, exams, assessments, materials, printing, food, travel, memberships or software access
- The same or similar grant-funded training within the past five years
The five-year rule is worth knowing before you plan a multi-year program. Employees should not repeat the same or similar grant-funded training until at least five years have passed. The one exception is English for Speakers of Other Languages.
The coaching exclusion matters too. The fund pays for instruction. A program built around one-on-one coaching or consulting does not qualify, even when the subject is leadership or strategy. Group, instructor-led training does.
How does Workforce Training Fund reimbursement work?
You pay the training provider, your employees complete the course, and you submit a reimbursement request to Commonwealth Corporation within 30 days of the course ending. The state then pays you back by check or electronic funds transfer.
The Express Program is a reimbursement grant, not an advance. That means you need the cash to pay for the course first. It also means the order of operations matters: your grant agreement has to be in place before the training starts. A course taken before your agreement start date cannot be reimbursed.
What to submit
Send the reimbursement request to Commonwealth Corporation's Express team with four items:
- The completed reimbursement form, including the course ID, training dates, number of trainees, the amount you paid and the amount you are requesting.
- A list of trainees with each person's first and last name.
- The training provider's invoice, showing the provider name, your business as the party billed, and the course name.
- Proof of payment: a bank statement, cancelled check, credit card statement or accounting software record showing you paid.
Payment arrives by check unless you file an Electronic Funds Transfer form, which you only need to submit once. Some grants are selected for monitoring afterward, in which case Commonwealth Corporation will send a short form to confirm how the training went.
How do I apply for a Workforce Training Fund Express Grant?
Choose an approved course, confirm your business is eligible, gather three documents, and submit the online application at least 21 days before training begins. Once approved, you sign an Express Service Agreement, take the training, and request reimbursement.
- Choose your course. Your training provider gives you its course ID, cost and instructional hours. For SCALE UP, we give you all three for each module.
- Confirm eligibility. Check the employer and employee rules in section 03 and make sure the course fits the caps in section 05.
- Gather your documents. Certificate of Good Standing, Certificate of Compliance and a W-9. See section 09.
- Submit the application through Commonwealth Corporation's online Express application. Grants are awarded on a rolling basis throughout the year, subject to available funds.
- Sign the Express Service Agreement. Its start date is set 21 days from the date you submitted. Training cannot begin before that date.
- Complete the training, then request reimbursement within 30 days of the course ending.
The application itself is short. Most of the time goes into steps 3 and 5: gathering the certificates and waiting out the 21 days. Plan backward from the date you want training to start.
What documentation is required?
Three documents to apply: a Certificate of Good Standing from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue dated within the last six months, a Certificate of Compliance from the Department of Unemployment Assistance, and a Form W-9.
| Document | Where it comes from | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate of Good Standing | Massachusetts Department of Revenue, through MassTaxConnect | Must be dated within six months of your application |
| Certificate of Compliance | Department of Unemployment Assistance, through your unemployment services employer account | The legal business name must match your application |
| Form W-9 | IRS form, completed by your business | Use the same legal name and federal employer ID |
If either certificate comes back with a problem, such as an unfiled return or an open unemployment balance, resolve it before you apply. The compliance checks are part of approval, and a business that is not current will not be approved.
For reimbursement you will need the four items listed in section 07. Keep your training provider's invoice and your proof of payment together as soon as you pay. It makes the 30-day reimbursement window easy to hit.
How long does the Workforce Training Fund process take?
Plan on about four weeks from starting your paperwork to your first day of training. The grant agreement starts 21 days after you apply, the course has to start within six months, and you have 30 days after it ends to request reimbursement.
Gather your certificates
Request your Certificate of Good Standing and Certificate of Compliance. Most businesses have both within one to three days.
Submit the application
Commonwealth Corporation reviews it and runs the compliance checks.
Agreement start date
Your Express Service Agreement begins 21 days after submission. This is the earliest date training can start.
Training begins
The course must start no later than six months after you submitted, and all approved training must be completed within 12 months.
Request reimbursement
Submit the form, trainee list, invoice and proof of payment.
Reimbursement paid
Paid by check or electronic funds transfer. In our experience with SCALE UP companies, payment typically arrives four to five weeks after the request is submitted.
How do I know a training program is approved for the Workforce Training Fund?
The specific course has to be registered with Commonwealth Corporation before you apply, with its own course ID, and it has to fit the funding caps. A provider describing itself as "grant approved" is not the same as the exact course you are taking being registered and priced to be fully covered.
This is where most small businesses lose money on the program. The course is real, the training is good, and the grant still does not cover all of it, because the course runs over the hourly cap or the paperwork does not line up. Five things have to be true for a course to be reimbursed in full. SCALE UP was built so every one of them is.
| What has to be true | Why it matters | SCALE UP |
|---|---|---|
| The course is registered, with its own course ID | Only registered courses can be funded through the Express Program | Each of the five modules is registered with Commonwealth Corporation |
| $3,000 or less per trainee | Anything above the cap comes out of your pocket | Priced at the cap, so nothing is left over |
| $300 or less per instructional hour | The cap most often missed; short workshops routinely exceed it | 10 instructional hours per module, exactly at $300 |
| Instructor-led, not coaching | Training that is 100% coaching or consulting is excluded | Live, instructor-led cohort training |
| Held during working hours | Courses outside working hours are not eligible | Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:00 to 3:30 PM ET |
There is a sixth thing that is not a rule but decides whether the grant actually happens: help with the application. The paperwork, not the training, is where most small businesses stall. We complete the Express application with you, live on Zoom, and walk you through the two certificates before you submit.
Can small businesses use the Workforce Training Fund for AI training?
Yes. Instructor-led AI training in a registered course can be reimbursed like any other eligible course. What the fund will not pay for is the AI software itself: subscriptions and account access are excluded.
AI is now one of the most practical uses of the fund for a small business, because the barrier is rarely the tools. It is knowing how to apply them to your own marketing, sales and planning work. Instructor-led AI training that teaches your team to do that is exactly the kind of productivity training the fund was built for.
Three rules decide whether AI training qualifies:
- It must be training, not tooling. Commonwealth Corporation excludes "temporary account access" and any expense not directly related to delivering training. A ChatGPT, Claude or Copilot subscription is not reimbursable. The course that teaches your team to use them is.
- It must be a registered course with Commonwealth Corporation, like any other Express course.
- It must fit the caps: $3,000 per trainee, $300 per instructional hour. Many short AI workshops are priced well above $300 an hour and will only be partly covered.
AI for Growth: the SCALE UP module built for this
Module 05 of SCALE UP is ten hours of instructor-led AI training designed for small business owners and their teams, and registered for Express funding like the rest of the program. It is the module that loops back and strengthens the four before it, so your team is not learning AI in the abstract. They are using it on the strategic plan, personas and marketing plan they built in the earlier modules.
- Artificial intelligence, introduced: what it can do for a business
- The rise of AI agents, and how they work as business partners
- The power of the prompt: getting reliable output
- Using AI to strengthen your buyer personas
- Using AI to build your strategic plan
- Using AI to build your marketing plan
- Website, SEO and content
- Additional AI tools to multiply future growth
See every section of all five modules →
Can the Workforce Training Fund pay for leadership training?
Yes, when it is instructor-led training in a registered course. Leadership coaching that is entirely one-on-one or consulting does not qualify.
Leadership and management development is one of the most common uses of the fund. For small businesses, the payoff is concrete: the people who carry the company's strategy get the frameworks to run their teams, keep their best people and hold each other accountable, without the owner in every conversation.
Eligible leadership training typically covers topics like company culture, retention, team dysfunction, feedback, accountability and managing first-time managers. The test is the format, not the subject. A cohort-based course with an instructor qualifies. An executive coach meeting one leader privately each week does not, because the fund excludes training that is 100% coaching or consulting.
Building Your Team: leadership training inside SCALE UP
Module 02 of SCALE UP is ten hours of instructor-led leadership training, taught in a cohort of Massachusetts owners and managers and registered for Express funding. It covers the people who carry your strategy and the rhythms that keep your best ones:
- Building a strong company culture that lasts
- Developing a retention strategy for your team
- Strengthening marketing through the lens of leadership
- Overcoming the growth killer: tackling unproductivity
- Navigating the five dysfunctions of a team
- Leading by example: inspiring through action
For owners and CEOs who want leadership development alongside their peers over a full year, the Skayle 360 CEO Roundtable is a confidential, twelve-month forum that is also reimbursable through the fund.
Can the Workforce Training Fund pay for marketing and sales training?
Yes. Marketing strategy, lead generation and sales training all qualify when the course is instructor-led, registered, held during working hours and within the funding caps.
Marketing and sales training has a direct line to the fund's purpose, which is business productivity and competitiveness. A small business that learns to differentiate its offer, map the customer decision journey, and build a lead generation engine its own team can run is more competitive in a measurable way.
Common eligible topics include positioning and differentiation, customer personas, marketing planning, website conversion, search and paid advertising strategy, email marketing, social media for lead generation, and aligning marketing with sales.
What does not qualify is having an agency do the work for you. The fund pays for teaching your team to do it. If a vendor is building your campaigns or writing your plan, that is a service, not training.
In SCALE UP, this is two full modules. Module 03, Marketing Strategy, covers differentiation, the customer decision journey and a written marketing plan. Module 04, Lead Generation, covers website conversion, search and paid strategy, retargeting, email, social media and aligning marketing with sales. Your team builds each piece on your own business during the sessions and keeps it.
Frequently asked questions
Can business owners attend training funded by the Express Program?
Only if they are W-2 payroll employees of the business. Commonwealth Corporation notes that owners are generally not W-2 payroll employees and are therefore usually not eligible. An owner who is paid through payroll as a W-2 employee of their own corporation can be.
What does WTFP stand for?
Workforce Training Fund Program. It is the Massachusetts program that funds employee training grants from employer contributions, administered by Commonwealth Corporation.
Is the Express Grant the same as the Workforce Training Fund?
No. The Workforce Training Fund is the overall program. The Express Program, often called the Express Grant, is one track within it for employers with 100 or fewer Massachusetts employees buying registered courses. The General Program is a separate track for larger, customized training plans.
How much does my business pay into the Workforce Training Fund?
0.056 percent of the wages your unemployment insurance contributions are based on. With the $15,000 wage base, that is at most $8.40 per employee per year.
Are part-time and remote employees eligible?
Yes. Full-time and part-time W-2 employees on your payroll are eligible. Remote employees who live outside Massachusetts can be eligible as long as the company pays Massachusetts unemployment insurance for them.
Can I apply for more than one course?
Yes. The Express Program has no waiting period between grants. You can apply for several courses as long as your total Express awards stay within $15,000 per company per calendar year.
Do I have to pay for the training up front?
Yes. The Express Program is a reimbursement grant. Your business pays the training provider, completes the course, then submits a reimbursement request within 30 days of completion.
Does training have to happen during work hours?
Yes. Employees must be paid their regular pay rate during training hours, and courses that take place outside working hours are not eligible for funding.
Can a business use the Express Program and the General Program at the same time?
Yes. Under the policy update effective April 1, 2026, all eligible employers may participate in both the Express and General Programs simultaneously.
Can I pay for an AI software subscription with a Workforce Training Fund grant?
No. Only the cost of delivering training is eligible. Commonwealth Corporation excludes temporary account access, materials and other expenses not directly related to the delivery of training.
Can nonprofits use the Workforce Training Fund?
Nonprofits that pay into the Workforce Training Fund through their Massachusetts unemployment insurance contributions and meet the other eligibility requirements can qualify. Check your unemployment account before you apply.
Can an employee take a course they have already taken?
Not within five years. Employees should not have previously participated in the same or similar grant-funded training until at least five years have passed, with an exception for English for Speakers of Other Languages.
Is funding guaranteed once I apply?
No. Grants are awarded on a rolling basis subject to available funds, and your business must pass the compliance checks. Once you hold a signed Express Service Agreement and complete the approved training as agreed, you can request reimbursement.
Can I be reimbursed for training that has already happened?
No. Your Express Service Agreement must be in place first, and training cannot begin before the agreement start date, 21 days after you apply.
Can new hires be trained with the fund?
Yes, once they are on your payroll. The fund supports training for current and newly hired employees, but an employee must be on your payroll on the date you submit the Express application.
Is there a deadline to apply?
There is no annual deadline. Express grants are awarded on a rolling basis throughout the year, subject to available funds. The deadline that matters is your course start date: apply at least 21 days before training begins, and ideally four weeks ahead.
Can a company with more than 100 employees use the fund?
Not through the Express Program, which is limited to employers with 100 or fewer Massachusetts employees. Larger employers can apply to the General Program, which is open to employers of any size.
Skayle 360's Workforce Training Fund approved training
Skayle 360 is a registered training provider in Commonwealth Corporation's Express Course Directory. Our flagship program, SCALE UP, is 50 hours of live, instructor-led training across strategy, team, marketing, lead generation and AI, taught to a cohort of fifteen Massachusetts companies.
It was designed around the rules on this page. Each of the five modules is a 10-hour course priced to sit inside the $3,000-per-course and $300-per-hour limits, and the five together match the $15,000 annual cap. For most eligible companies, that means the program is reimbursed in full.
We also complete the Express application with you, live on Zoom, and walk you through the certificates. More than 300 leaders from 175+ Massachusetts organizations have taken the training. Our CEO Roundtable, a twelve-month peer forum for small business CEOs, is reimbursable through the fund as well.