By: Micki Vandeloo, President, Lakeview Consulting
In September of 2025, the United States Department of Labor awarded over $86 million to 14 states through the Industry Driven Skills Training Fund Program. This funding is meant to encourage states to develop skills training programs to help address each state’s workforce challenges by developing workforce training grant programs.
The 14 states provided the industries they would target for the funding, and many have since announced the programs that have been funded by this grant opportunity. In many cases, awards from the resulting programs are far above normal training grant amounts. Below is a synopsis of each of the state grant programs from the first round of awards. Note that for all awards both incumbent workers and those newly hired are eligible trainees. Many of the grant programs also require that the trainee obtain an industry recognized credential.
Another round of this funding for 10 additional states just concluded in mid-August. The grants from the first and second rounds provide a tremendous opportunity for manufacturers in these states to upskill current and new employees at a greater reduced cost. The table below lists each recipient of the federal funding, provides a link to the funding program (if announced), awards for each state and resulting grant awards to companies in each state, and the industries each state targeted for workforce development funding.
| State | Grant Title | Award Information | Service Area | Target Industries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Industry Grant | $5,000,000, program not announced as of 8/31/26 | Pinal and Maricopa Counties (including the city of Phoenix) | Advanced Manufacturing |
| Connecticut | Connecticut Industry-Driven Skills Training Fund | $8,000,000, funding dispersed to regional workforce boards | Statewide | Shipbuilding and supply chain; Advanced Manufacturing; Information Technology; Construction and other skilled trade with AI integration; Healthcare and social assistance; transportation, distribution and logistics |
| Georgia | Georgia Industry-Driven Skills Training Fund | $5,000,000, awards up to $7,000 per trainee for up to 60 trainees per company | Statewide | Energy; Construction; and Advanced Manufacturing |
| Iowa | AMP’D – Advanced Manufacturing Pathways | $4,682,000, awards up to 80% of training costs up to $4,000 per employee and $250,000 per business | Statewide | Advanced Manufacturing, primarily focused on production and maintenance positions |
| Idaho | Industry-Driven Skills Training Fund | $8,000,000, awards up to 80% of training costs up to $25,000 per employee | Statewide | Advanced manufacturing; nuclear energy; mineral extraction |
| Louisiana | Workforce Outcomes and Reimbursement for Key Sectors (WORKS) Training Fund | $7,000,000, awards range from 60 to 80% of training costs | Statewide | Construction and industrial trades; Advanced manufacturing; Artificial intelligence (AI)-enabling occupations supporting data centers and digital infrastructure |
| Maine | Maine Defense Shipbuilding and Advanced Manufacturing Training Fund | $7,999,000, awards up to $8,000 per trainee and up to $250,000 per company | Statewide | Shipbuilding; Defense; Aerospace; Advanced Manufacturing |
| Michigan | Michigan Industry-Driven Skills Training Program (MIDSTP) | $8,000,000, awards up to $10,000 per trainee and up to $200,000 per employer | Statewide | Shipbuilding is the targeted industry for this grant including shipbuilding contractors, maritime suppliers, defense and commercial maritime sectors. |
| Mississippi | MAST-Mississippi Advanced Shipbuilding Training | $5,705,000 | Jackson, Harrison, and Hancock Counties on the Mississippi Gulf Coast within the Twin Workforce Development Area (LWDA)Districts Local | Shipbuilding (funding is targeted for 3 major employers to upskill and attract employees) |
| Oklahoma | Oklahoma Talent Accelerator | $5,999,255, awards up to $12,500 per trainee and up to $500,000 per employer | Statewide | Aerospace and defense; Advanced Manufacturing; Artificial Intelligence (AI) Infrastructure and Data Centers |
| Tennessee | Tennessee Talent | $5,000,000 | Statewide with focus on: East (Nuclear), Middle (Technology and Advanced Manufacturing), and West (Logistics and Advanced Manufacturing) | Nuclear Energy; Artificial Intelligence; Advanced Manufacturing |
| Texas | Texas Industry-Driven Skills Training | $5,399,992 | Statewide | Shipbuilding, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence (AI), information technology (IT), semiconductor manufacturing, aerospace/aviation & defense, energy, and healthcare. Occupations requiring middle- to high-level skills that contribute to the pipeline of workers eligible for H-1B positions in these sectors. |
| Wisconsin | Wisconsin Training for Resilient Advanced Industry Needs (WisTRAIN) | $7,330,022 | Statewide, with a focus on Southeast Wisconsin (Milwaukee); Northeast Wisconsin (Green Bay/Appleton); and Central Wisconsin (Madison/Wausau) | Advanced Manufacturing/Industry 4.0; Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) |
| Wyoming | Industry-Driven Skills Training Fund Grant Program | $3,000,000 | Statewide with targeted outreach for Albany, Campbell, Converse, Crook, Natrona, Sweetwater, and Weston counties | Artificial intelligence (AI), advanced manufacturing, nuclear energy, domestic mineral production, and information technology (IT). The project will also serve traditional in-demand industries such as construction, finance and insurance, healthcare and social assistance, manufacturing, technology, and hospitality and tourism. |
