Massachusetts keeps a fund that reimburses employers for training their own people — up to 100% of the cost. The version for smaller companies is called the Express Program. The application runs about fifteen minutes. We'll sit down and fill it out with you, and we don't charge for that part.
Every state sets money aside so employers can train the people they already have. Better skills, better pay, more tax revenue — the state considers that a good trade. In Massachusetts the money comes out of the Workforce Training Fund, which your business already pays into, and the small-employer version is run by Commonwealth Corporation under the name Express Program.
You pick an approved course, apply, wait out a short window, run the training, then send in the paperwork and get reimbursed. That's the whole shape of it.
Figures read off the state's own Express Program guidelines on August 20, 2026. Programs move; when in doubt, the source is here.
Three things have to be true. For most Massachusetts employers all three already are, which is the part people don't believe.
If those three are true, you're eligible. There isn't a fourth hoop.
The threshold is Massachusetts W-2 employees, not total employees, not contractors, and not headcount across every state you operate in. Plenty of companies who assume they're too big turn out to be well under.
Ask us to checkThe state has already reviewed this course and said yes, so there is nothing new for anyone to approve. Pick it, apply, run the training, and get reimbursed. We sit with you and fill out the application, and we don't charge for that.
Fund this trainingUp to 100% back. Grants approved in about 21 days.
We co-presented this webinar with Krysta Van Ranst of Building PPL. Partway through, she filled out a real application on camera and booked a Learn to Scale training with it. If you only want that part, skip to the twenty-six minute mark — she's done in under ten minutes.
Here's what she said after the training was done:
Almost never because the training was wrong. Almost always because somebody got excited and jumped the gun. Four rules cover nearly all of it.
Your agreement begins 21 days after you submit. Training that starts a day early is ineligible — the whole course, not just the early day. This is the one that gets people.
You have twelve months from the agreement start date to complete the training and file for reimbursement.
Employees stay on their regular pay rate while they're in the room. Unpaid training doesn't qualify.
Five years have to pass before the same or substantially similar training is fundable again. English language courses are the exception.
Two more worth knowing: training you're legally required to provide doesn't qualify, and there's a ceiling of $300 per instructional hour.
If your business pays into the Massachusetts unemployment insurance system, you're in. That covers LLCs, sole proprietorships, and nonprofits that selected the contributory method for UI. If you're unsure which method your nonprofit chose, your payroll provider knows in about ninety seconds.
As long as your company contributes to Massachusetts state taxes, your HQ can be on the moon.
As long as your company contributes to Massachusetts state taxes, your employees can be on the moon.
$3,000 per employee per course, and $15,000 per company per calendar year. You can't pour the full annual amount into one person for one course, but you can spread it across several courses and several people.
They didn't play by the rules. The rules aren't hard — they're the four above.
Ours does: AI Fluency for a 100% Human Workforce is an approved course and has been funded this way before. If you're asking about a different training, we'll tell you plainly if we think it won't clear. We'd rather lose the engagement than hand you a denied application.
We walk Massachusetts employers through this application regularly and we don't charge for it, including when the training you end up funding isn't ours. Tell us you want to talk about the grant and we'll come back with times.
Ring the doorbell →The money is already yours. It's sitting in a form.
Tell us what's going on with AI where you work and we'll point you at the right first step, even if it isn't one of ours.
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