Hawaii's Employment and Training Fund pays 50% of tuition for ETF-approved courses, up to $1,000 per course, for employees of private employers. The catch is the provider list: the fund only covers courses from providers the state has approved, and our courses are not on it. We will tell you plainly what that means before you spend time on a referral.
The Employment and Training Fund is run by the Workforce Development Division of the Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Its Micro Program helps private employers upgrade the skills of the people they already employ, from owners and managers to front-line staff. In fiscal year 2024-25 it funded 518 course registrations for 542 employees at 92 businesses.
The terms are short. The fund pays 50% of tuition for an ETF-approved course, up to $1,000 per course. You pay your 50%, plus anything above the fund's $2,000 tuition cap, directly to the training provider before the class starts. You refer employees through your nearest WDD office at least two weeks ahead, and books, tools and equipment are on you.
The limit is the provider list. Only courses from providers under contract with the fund qualify, and the state selects those providers through its own procurement. Our trainer is based in Massachusetts and is not on the list. The last provider solicitation we could read, from 2018, required providers to have operated in Hawaii for at least a year. The Division told the Legislature in December 2025 that it was working to secure providers for the next contract cycle, and it is also designing a new Macro Program.
State training money can help a small Hawaii business train its staff to automate repetitive work and compete with larger companies. For our courses, Hawaii's fund is not that route today. We will keep watching the next provider cycle and tell you if that changes.
For private, non-government employers in Hawaii and their current employees, run through the Workforce Development Division's local offices on each island.
You pay your 50%, and any amount above the $2,000 tuition cap, directly to the provider before the class starts. The fund's share goes to the provider, not to you. Books, tools, equipment and support services are yours to cover.
Submit the employer referral to your nearest WDD office at least two weeks before the class starts. Report cancellations or substitutions at least five state working days before the start. An employee who misses a class without notice can be suspended from the program.
An ETF-approved course costs $1,600 per employee. The fund pays $800 and the employer pays $800. On a $3,000 course the fund would pay at most $1,000 and the employer $2,000, but only if that course were on the approved list, and ours are not.
The five courses are the same in every state: 10 instructional hours, live and instructor-led, $3,000 per trainee, two-seat minimum. Start with who will be in the room. A mixed group of managers, admins and customer-facing staff belongs in AI Enablement for Small Business Teams. If the pressure is in the back office, AI for Finance, Accounting and Payroll Teams is built for the people who close the month and run payroll.
Contractors, home services and any crew-based business should look at AI for Field Service and Trades Businesses. Law, accounting, medical, dental, architecture and advisory offices fit AI for Professional Practices. And if you have someone who lives in spreadsheets, exports and reports, Claude Code for Operations and Data Teams is the technical option, with a smaller cohort of up to 6.
In Hawaii the course choice does not depend on the grant, because our courses are not ETF-approved. Pick the room on its merits. If you want state help with part of the cost, the fund's own approved list is where that has to come from.
A 15 minute call to confirm you are a private Hawaii employer, choose the course, and choose the employees who would attend.
We check whether the state's next provider cycle is open and whether there is any eligible path for these courses. You get a plain answer, including a plain no.
If you go ahead without ETF, your team takes 10 hours of live, instructor-led training over 4 to 5 weeks at $3,000 per trainee. You pay the course invoice.
If the courses are ever approved for ETF, the process is a referral through your WDD office at least two weeks ahead, with your 50% paid to the provider before the class.
Plan your AI rollout as two budgets: training, and implementation as its own project. Our free AI capability audit maps the second one.
Only for courses on its approved list. Hawaii's Employment and Training Fund Micro Program pays 50% of tuition, up to $1,000 per course, for current employees of private employers taking ETF-approved courses. The program's materials do not mention AI either way, and our courses are not on the approved list.
Half of tuition, up to $1,000 per course. A $1,600 approved course would mean $800 from the fund and $800 from you. On a $3,000 course the fund's share would stop at $1,000, leaving $2,000 for the employer, and only if the course were ETF-approved.
No. The fund only covers courses from providers on its approved list, and the state selects those providers through its own procurement. The last solicitation we could read, from 2018, required providers to have operated in Hawaii for at least a year.
No. Our trainer is based in Massachusetts and is not an ETF-approved provider. We will not suggest the fund covers these courses unless the state approves them.
Private, non-government employers in Hawaii. The training has to upgrade workforce skills and cannot be training you already provide or training required by federal or state law. Government workers are not eligible.
A current employee of a non-government employer who is legally able to work in the U.S. Owners, managers, supervisors and staff can all take part. Government-subsidized employees are not eligible.
No. It pays part of tuition only. Books, tools, equipment and support services are also the employer's cost.
At least two weeks before the class starts, through your nearest Workforce Development Division office. Cancellations or substitutions must be reported at least five state working days before the start date.
The fund does not reimburse you. You pay your 50%, plus anything above the $2,000 tuition cap, directly to the provider before the class, and the fund covers the rest with the provider.
The Micro Program is active for courses on its approved list. The Division reported in December 2025 that its current provider contracts, which began in February 2024, were nearing the end of their term and that it was securing providers for the next cycle. It is also developing a new Macro Program.
Missing a class without proper notice can bring a one-year suspension from the ETF program for the first occurrence, and longer after that. Treat the enrollment as a firm commitment.
A 15 minute call. We confirm your eligibility and tell you where the ETF route stands for these courses. You can also call the Workforce Development Division at (808) 586-8877 or email dol.wdd@hawaii.gov.