Can Workforce Training Fund Grants Cover Required Continuing Education Hours?

Yes. If a law, regulation, or licensing requirement requires a number of continuing education hours or Continuing Education Units (CEUs) but lets you choose the courses, Workforce Training Fund Program (WTFP) grants can help pay for the training you pick, as long as all other program guidelines are met.

Required hours vs. required courses

WTFP does not fund training that a company is legally mandated to provide, such as OSHA 10 training in construction. Workers are required to complete a specific course, OSHA 10, to enter a work site. That rule applies to a specific course. If a regulator names the course or prescribes its content, it is not eligible. If a regulator requires a certain number of training hours but allows the workers to choose the course(s), this training can be paid for via a WTFP grant.

All other guidelines still apply. Trainees must be W-2 employees paid their regular wages during training, courses must be live and instructor-led, training cannot start before your grant does, and employees cannot repeat the same or similar WTFP-funded training within five years. Grants cover instruction, not certificate, exam or material fees. See the full program guidelines at commcorp.org/wtfp. 

Example: early education and care providers

The Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) requires educators to complete 5 to 20 hours of professional development each year, depending on hours worked, and lets programs choose the training (EEC policy). A childcare center can use the WTFP to fund instructor-led directory courses toward those hours. Training EEC names specifically, such as EEC Essentials and First Aid/CPR, is not eligible.

For example, a center with 12 full-time educators needs 20 hours of continuing education per educator. Two different 10-hour, instructor-led courses delivered to the whole group of 12 would meet the requirement. At the Express cap of $300 per instructional hour, each course could be reimbursed up to $3,000 per person, or $6,000 per person in total.

The same approach works in other fields with hours-based requirements, such as continuing professional education for accountants, insurance, real estate, or allied health professionals.

Find your next course in the Express Directory

Start by browsing the Express Course Directory for courses that fit your team's requirements. Don't see the training you need? Ask your preferred training provider to register it. Providers can submit courses through the Express Provider Portal, and the Training Provider Manual walks them through each step.

Questions? Email wtfp@commcorp.org.