Quick Response Training Grant Program

The Quick Response Training Program is a state-funded workforce development grant administered by CareerSource Florida to address the workforce-skill needs of existing, new, and expanding industries in Florida. The program is intended to support economic development by providing specialized training for new workers. For fiscal year 2026-2027, covering July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, the program identifies $7.5 million in available funding. Each individual Federal Employer Identification Number must submit a separate application. Eligible companies must create new, permanent, full-time jobs of at least 37.5 hours per week for Florida residents and must require customized, high-level skills training that is not available locally. The jobs must be permanent, full-time, high-quality positions in qualified targeted industries, and the required training must be non-degree, specialized, skills-based training lasting 24 months or less. Companies must also provide sufficient participant-identification information for performance measurement, including information that can be accessed through automated student databases or electronic listings by Social Security number. Funding priorities include first-time applicants, companies creating jobs in distressed urban inner-city areas, rural areas, opportunity zones, HUB areas, or brownfield areas, companies creating jobs paying at least 115 percent of applicable local or state private-sector wages, proposals with strong economic impact and in-kind or cash contributions, and companies seeking to hire veterans or improve veterans' specialized skills. Reimbursable training costs may include a portion of instructor or trainer salaries, curriculum development, textbooks and manuals, travel for trainers or trainees, and other approved training costs. Trainee wages are not reimbursable. CareerSource Florida determines an approved per-trainee reimbursement amount based on preapproved new hires who complete training and the approved amount per trainee. Training may be provided by a provider selected by the company so long as it is customized and skills based. Examples of training that cannot be funded include CPR and first aid, OSHA and safety training, retail-related instruction, new-hire orientation, diversity and sexual-harassment training, English as a second language, degree programs, workplace literacy or soft-skills training, and training conducted as part of a conference. In-kind or cash matching contributions are identified as a funding priority rather than a mandatory cost-share requirement. Applications must be completed online using an email address associated with the company's domain or an account linked to the company. Applications must be submitted at least 45 business days before the desired training start date. The application includes employer and company information; optional fiscal-agent information, with a fiscal agent required if an award exceeds $750,000; position information for each new position, including title, number of new hires, starting annual wage, average annual wage, and position description; a separate Training Summary Detail for each training course, including provider, objectives, course costs, and duration; and a Training Program Budget and Financial Analysis. Supporting documentation includes an Economic Development Organization Letter, a Fiscal Agent Letter when applicable, a Local Workforce Development Board Letter, a company letter requesting grant services, a Florida Department of Revenue Tax Clearance Letter, Form 941, and the 2024 version of Form W-9. After submission, CareerSource Florida sends an automated email confirming receipt and changes the application status to under review. Applications undergo due diligence for completeness, and outstanding balances or liens to the State of Florida will result in denial. Incomplete applications delay approval and are returned to the review queue. After the review is completed, the company contact receives an email stating the pre-approved grant amount. An approved contract is then sent electronically through DocuSign. CareerSource Florida signs after the company, and the contract becomes effective on the date the CareerSource Florida CFO signs it. Contracts not fully executed within 45 days are voided. Hiring and training may begin only after the contract is fully executed, and costs associated with hiring or training begun before execution will not be reimbursed. Training must be completed within 24 months of the contract effective date, and contract extensions are not permitted. Final reimbursement requests must be submitted within 60 days after the contract end date. A Quick Response Training Evaluation is also required no later than 60 days after the end of training. Required reimbursement documentation includes a Trainee Data Submission Form, Reimbursement Request Form, and Trainee List. Personally identifiable information must be transmitted through the encrypted application portal rather than by other means. Program contacts are grants@careersourceflorida.com, 850-759-4349, and 850-792-5242. The guidelines cover July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027; they do not explicitly state that the opportunity recurs annually or provide a separately labeled fixed application opening or closing deadline.

Submit the application at least 45 business days before the desired training start date; complete Section 1 fully before leaving because it cannot be edited later; ensure the training budget correlates with the proposed training and includes trainee wages and facility costs where applicable even though trainee wages are not reimbursable; submit all required supporting documentation because incomplete applications return to the queue; resolve outstanding balances or liens to the State of Florida because they result in denial; emphasize first-time applicant status, qualifying distressed or opportunity-zone locations, high-quality wages at or above the stated 115 percent benchmark, economic impact, in-kind or cash contributions, and veteran hiring or upskilling when applicable; do not begin reimbursable hiring or training before the contract is fully executed