Train Your Workforce

The Skills Development Fund is Texas' premier job-training program providing local customized training opportunities for Texas businesses and workers to increase skill levels and wages of the Texas workforce. The Texas Workforce Commission administers funding for the program. Success is achieved through collaboration among businesses, public community and technical colleges, Workforce Development Boards and economic development partners.

For forms and documents to submit a grant proposal, see Skills Development Fund – Training Providers & Workforce Development Partners.

What is the Skills Development Fund Grant?

The Skills Development Fund Grant assists businesses, labor unions, and community and technical colleges by financing customized job training for new or existing jobs in local businesses. This grant successfully merges business needs and local job training opportunities into a winning formula for putting people to work.

This program, through the Texas Workforce Commission, is designed to help Texas public community and technical colleges and a higher education extension agency finance customized job training for their local businesses. The funds provide training for specific skills for workers who will be hired by the businesses. Businesses and labor unions that form partnerships with local community colleges and technical schools or the higher education extension agency may apply.

For more information visit the TWC Skills Development Fund website.

Skills for Small Business for Employers

Through the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) Skills for Small Business program, up to $2 million from the Skills Development Fund is dedicated to the backbone of Texas' business community—our small employers. Small businesses can apply to TWC for training offered by their local community or technical college, or the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX). TWC processes the applications and works with the college to fund the specific courses selected by businesses for their employees.

This exceptional opportunity supports businesses with fewer than 100 employees, and emphasizes training for new workers though it also may help upgrade the skills of incumbent workers.

• Skills for Small Business emphasizes training newly hired employees, those who have been hired by the business up to twelve months prior to the date that TWC receives an application.
• The program pays up to $1,800 for each new employee being trained and $900 for existing employees per 12-month period.
• Funding for training is for full-time employees.
• All training must be provided by a public community or technical college, or the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX). No third-party vendor training is allowed.
• Training must be selected from active course catalogs/schedules— credit, continuing education, online or other available unpublished courses.
• Employers must pay the prevailing wages in the local labor market for the trainees funded under the grant.