Business Training Grants

Wyoming Business Training Grants are administered by the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services through the Workforce Development Training Fund. The program is designed to help Wyoming businesses address employee skill deficiencies, upgrade existing employee skills, improve productivity and efficiency, strengthen profitability, reduce employee turnover, and enhance employee job performance or wages. Applicants must be Wyoming based businesses with a physical address in Wyoming. Political organizations and government entities are not eligible, except for Wyoming county and memorial hospitals and emergency medical providers. Eligible training must correct an employee skill deficiency or upgrade an employee's current skill level and must directly relate to the employee's job or craft. The requested training must support the competitiveness of the business within its industry or economy. General leadership training may not qualify unless the requested leadership training is directly related to the applicable industry. Grant funds cannot replace an existing business training budget or another funding source. The intended results of funded training include increased productivity, efficiency, or profitability, reduced employee turnover, and improved employee wages or job performance. Funding is limited to 3000 dollars per trainee per fiscal year for non-preferred industries and 4000 dollars per trainee per fiscal year for preferred industries. A business may receive no more than 75000 dollars per fiscal year. The preferred industries identified by the program are construction, manufacturing, healthcare and social assistance, finance and insurance, technology, and hospitality and tourism. The source does not state a required applicant cost share or matching contribution. Businesses may submit as many applications as necessary within the applicable funding limits, but each application must cover a single training event. Multiple trainees may be included on the same application when they are all attending that training. Before applying, a business must complete a one-time registration application to obtain access to the Grants Management System. Registration approval can take approximately one to two weeks. Businesses must be registered and in good standing with Wyoming Unemployment Insurance, Workers' Compensation, the Wyoming Secretary of State, the Workforce Development Training Fund, and HireWyo. HireWyo processing may require an additional one to two weeks, particularly when Workers' Compensation or Unemployment Insurance accounts require updates. Businesses established less than one year ago must provide a letter of support from a local economic development entity. Requested registration clarifications or good-standing corrections must be completed within 60 calendar days or the registration will be rejected. Good standing with the Secretary of State, Unemployment Insurance, Workers' Compensation, and HireWyo is verified at each application submission. Applications may be created and submitted at any time through the Grants Management System. An application for funding must be submitted 30 to 110 calendar days before the training start date or the first requested travel date. Requested travel may cover only the day before training begins and the day after training ends, and applicable travel dates must be included in the training start and end dates entered in the application. Applications are prioritized for preferred industries and for training that leads to certifications or licenses. Review may take up to two weeks. If the Workforce Development Training Fund team requests revisions, the revisions must be completed within two business days. An application can be returned for revisions up to two times; if additional revisions are required after that, the application will be denied and a new application must be submitted. Approval is not guaranteed, and applications for events beginning within the following month receive priority. For an approved application, the business must sign a Letter of Agreement and the Director of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services must execute it before training begins. The agreement is assigned through the Tasks section of the approved grant in the portal and identifies the approved training timeline, approved amount, grantee responsibilities, and department responsibilities. The signed agreement must be returned to the department within five business days or it is considered void and the grant is cancelled. Costs will not be reimbursed without a fully executed contract. Denial notices are sent by email to the primary or signatory contact that submitted the application. The program also provides a final report checklist and attendance verification forms for conference and online training. No individual program contact name, email address, telephone number, fixed annual application deadline, award notification date, or fixed performance period is stated in the supplied source.