As a result of finite funding and unprecedented levels of participation in WTFP programs, less funding is available for new grants beginning in FY25 (Jul 2024 – June 2025) than in recent years. As a result of limited resources, the program has had to implement policy changes intended to extend resources to serve more businesses and maintain grant-making throughout the year whenever possible.
As a result of our finite funding, the Express Program has made the decision to add a subsidy cap in cost per instructional hour of $300, irrespective of number of trainees attending the course (for both per-trainee rate courses, and group rate courses). Please note that this is a subsidy cap of $300 per instructional hour, which means if you are an organization with 51-100 MA payroll employees, the subsidy cap will be calculated off 50% of the course cost (the max reimbursable percentage amount for organizations with 51-100 payroll employees).
You can view our Subsidy Estimator Tool here: Express Program Subsidy Estimator This tool uses currently approved course data on our Express Course Directory to help you estimate how much you may be able to get reimbursed for if you decide to apply for funding. |
If you are taking part in a course that is offered at a per trainee rate, here is how the $300/instructional hour will be implemented:
1. If the course cost is $2000 Per Trainee, and you plan on sending 5 trainees to the course.
We will utilize the course training hours preapproved for the course in our Express Course Directory. For this example course, the training hours is 6.
Cost/Training Hour is calculated by dividing the per trainee cost of $2000 by the number of training hours, which is 6.
a. $2000/6 Hours = $333.33 per training hour
b. If the above calculated value is less than or equal to $300 per training hour, no adjustment is needed as the course falls within our subsidy cap
c. If the above calculated value is greater than $300, the award amount for the trainee will be reduced to $300 x number of training hours.
2. In this example, the cost per trainee hour is greater than $300, therefore, the adjusted course cost is as follows:
a. $300 x 6 training hours = $1800 Per Trainee
3. Final step is to check and make sure the per trainee cost does not exceed our $3000 per trainee/per course subsidy cap (all good in this example), then multiple the adjusted per trainee cost by the number of expected trainees
a. $1800 Per Trainee x 5 trainees = $9000
b. This is the amount the Express Program can cover for this course.
4. The out-of-pocket/match amount will be the total course cost minus the amount the Express Program can cover
a. $2000 x 5 Trainees= $10,000
b. $10,000-$9,000= $1,000 Match Amount
If you are taking part in a course that is offered at a group rate, here is how the $300/instructional hour cap will be implemented:
1. If the course cost is $5000 Per Group, and you plan on sending 5 trainees to the course.
We will utilize the course training hours preapproved for the course in our Express Course Directory. For this example, the course training hours is 8.
Cost/Training Hour is calculated by dividing the group rate cost ($5000) by the number of training hours, which is 8.
a. $5000/8 Hours = $625 per training hour
b. If the above calculated value is less than or equal to $300 per training hour, no adjustment is needed as the course falls within our subsidy cap
c. If the above calculated value is greater than $300, the award amount for the trainee will be reduced to $300 x number of training hours.
2. In this example, the cost per trainee hour is greater than $300, therefore, the adjusted course cost is as follows:
a. $300 x 8 training hours = $2400 Per Group
3. The final step is to check and make sure the per trainee cost does not exceed our $3000 per trainee/per course subsidy cap (all good in this example).
a. Since the course is less than $3000 per trainee, $2400 is the max amount we can award for this course.
4. The out-of-pocket/match amount will be the total course cost minus the amount the Express Program can cover
a. $5000-$2400= $2600 Match Amount
For additional details regarding this subsidy cap, you can review our two-pager attached to the end of this FAQ. Page 2 provides more detailed examples.
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