Minnesota funds employee training through several programs, but most of them route the money through a Minnesota college or licensed school. The one that lets you bring an outside trainer, DEED's Automation Training Incentive Program, is limited to manufacturers and skilled assembly businesses in Greater Minnesota with 150 or fewer full-time employees, and the training has to tie to new automation technology. We tell you plainly which program, if any, fits your company.
Minnesota's main training grants sit with the Minnesota Job Skills Partnership at DEED: the Partnership Program, the Pathways Program, the Job Training Incentive Program, the Low Income Worker Training Program, and the Automation Training Incentive Program. A separate Dual Training Grant is run by the Minnesota Office of Higher Education.
The Partnership Program is the largest. Accredited public or private educational institutions are the grantees, partnering with businesses. The business matches the grant at least one to one in cash or in kind, grants reach up to $500,000, and approvals come two to three times a year. For an employer, this route runs through a college, which decides what training goes in the project.
The Automation Training Incentive Program is the one with an open door for outside trainers. Training can be delivered by colleges, in-house staff, agencies, consultants or equipment vendors. It is limited to manufacturing and skilled assembly businesses in Greater Minnesota with 150 or fewer full-time employees, it requires an investment in new automation technology, and the training has to relate directly to that technology. Grants run $10,000 to $35,000, capped at $5,000 per employee.
The Dual Training Grant lists a data science and AI machine learning specialist occupation, but it requires a Minnesota-authorized postsecondary provider, and its 2026 round closed April 8, 2026. For a manufacturer outside the metro that is adding automation, the automation program is how a smaller team trains staff to automate repetitive work and keep up with larger, better-funded competitors.
For manufacturing and skilled assembly production businesses in Greater Minnesota, outside Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott and Washington counties, with 150 or fewer full-time employees company-wide, that have invested or will invest in new automation technology.
Up to $6,000 per trainee for related instruction, through a Minnesota-authorized postsecondary provider, for occupations on the state's competency standards list. A 25% match applies only to employers with more than $25 million in revenue. The 2026 round closed April 8, 2026, and future rounds depend on funding.
A 60-person manufacturer in Greater Minnesota has added automated production equipment and wants six people trained on AI tools tied to it. Six seats come to $18,000, under the $5,000 per-employee cap and inside the $10,000 to $35,000 grant range. If DEED approves the project, eligible costs are reimbursed at the end of training. The share DEED covers is the first thing we confirm.
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 Minnesota the automation program is written for manufacturers adding new automation technology, so the Field Service and Trades course and the Claude Code course are the closest fit, and only when the training ties to that technology. We check that link with DEED before you apply.
A 15 minute call to check your industry, location, headcount and automation plans, and to pick the course and the employees who would attend.
For the automation program, we confirm with DEED that the training ties to your automation investment and what share it covers. For the Partnership Program, we check whether an accredited college partner will include these courses.
Automation program applications are taken at any time and funded first come, first served, with training expected to begin within six months of the award. Nothing starts before approval. Your team then takes 10 hours of live, instructor-led training over 4 to 5 weeks, and you pay the course invoice.
Under the automation program, eligible training costs are reimbursed at the end of the training, provided the incumbent jobs are still in place.
Plan your AI rollout as two budgets: training through the grant, and implementation as its own project. Our free AI capability audit maps the second one.
Sometimes, and mostly for manufacturers. DEED's Automation Training Incentive Program funds training tied to new automation technology for manufacturing and skilled assembly businesses in Greater Minnesota with 150 or fewer full-time employees. Other Minnesota programs fund training through Minnesota colleges or licensed schools, not through an outside trainer you hire directly.
Under the automation program, grants run $10,000 to $35,000, capped at $5,000 per employee. A $3,000 seat is under the cap, and six seats at $18,000 fall inside the grant range. The program guide does not state a match or a percentage, so we confirm the share with DEED before quoting a number.
Manufacturing or skilled assembly production businesses located outside the seven-county Twin Cities metro, with 150 or fewer full-time employees company-wide, operating with incumbent workers at the project site, that have invested in new automation technology in the past year or plan to during the project.
Current employees in permanent, full-time jobs of at least 32 hours a week for at least nine months a year, paying at least 120% of the federal poverty guideline for a family of four. The jobs have to still be in place when you claim reimbursement.
Under the automation program, yes: training can be delivered by consultants or equipment vendors as well as colleges and in-house staff, and the guide sets no in-state rule. Under the Partnership Program an accredited educational institution is the grantee, and the Dual Training Grant requires a Minnesota-authorized postsecondary provider.
Under the automation program, yes. Incumbent worker wages during training sessions are an eligible cost.
The automation program takes applications at any time and considers them first come, first served. Training is expected to begin within six months of the award, and nothing should start before approval. Partnership grants are approved two to three times a year.
Under the automation program, eligible training costs are reimbursed at the end of the training, provided the incumbent jobs are still in place. You pay the course invoice first.
Company orientation training, training not directly related to the new automation technology, and consulting or implementation work itself. AI software subscriptions for the business are outside the program. It pays for training.
The automation program guide we checked covers fiscal year 2026, which ended June 30, 2026. We are confirming current-year funding with DEED. The Dual Training Grant's 2026 round closed April 8, 2026, and future rounds depend on funding.
Possibly the Partnership Program, if an accredited college will partner with you and include this training, with your business matching at least one to one. It is a bigger, slower process. We will tell you plainly whether it is worth it for a 10-hour course.
Send the form. We check which program fits on a short call, then confirm the details with DEED. You can also reach DEED's Job Skills Partnership at 651-259-7514 or deed.mjsp@state.mn.us.