New Mexico's Step Up program reimburses up to 75% of the cost of training current employees, up to $6,000 per employee, and outside instructor fees are an eligible cost. The catch is who qualifies: manufacturers, or service businesses that earn more than half their revenue from customers outside New Mexico, with at least a year of operation in the state.
New Mexico's best-known training program, the Job Training Incentive Program (JTIP), pays for training new hires and does not allow retraining current employees. Step Up is the part of JTIP built for the people you already have. The Economic Development Department runs it, and the JTIP board approves each award.
The terms are strong. Step Up reimburses up to 75% of the cost of training current employees, up to $6,000 per employee. Tuition, registration fees, instructional materials, supplies, outside instructor fees and travel are eligible costs. Employee salaries, equipment, software and in-house training space are not. Mandatory regulatory training, such as OSHA and standalone safety training, is excluded.
The limit is eligibility. Step Up follows JTIP's definition of an eligible business: a manufacturer, or a service business that earns more than half its revenue from customers outside New Mexico. You also need a year of operation in the state, and you commit either to a reasonable net wage increase for trainees within six months of completion or to a capital investment in new equipment, technology or production methods within a year of the training.
For businesses that qualify, AI training fits two of the program's named categories: training on newly implemented technologies and processes, and workplace skills such as problem solving. It is a direct way for a small or mid-sized New Mexico company to train its staff to automate repetitive work and compete with larger, better-funded competitors.
The Job Training Incentive Program's reimbursement for training current employees. Run by the New Mexico Economic Development Department. Awards approved by the JTIP board.
Tuition, registration fees, certification and licensing fees, instructional materials, supplies, outside instructor fees and travel. Not covered: employee salaries, equipment, software, non-expendable supplies, in-house training space, and mandatory regulatory or safety training.
Start with the Step Up eligibility questionnaire on the Economic Development Department's site. JTIP staff review it and, if you qualify, invite a full application, which goes to the JTIP board for approval. The state does not publish a processing time, so nothing is scheduled until approval.
A 30-person manufacturer sends four people through one course. Tuition is $12,000. At 75%, up to $9,000 comes back if approved, well under the $24,000 the per-employee cap would allow for four people. The company's cost is $3,000 plus the wage increase it committed to.
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.
Step Up's $6,000 per-employee cap leaves room: a $3,000 seat qualifies in full. Because the state asks for a wage increase or a new technology investment, pick the course that matches the role you plan to reward or the tools you are rolling out.
A 15 minute call to confirm you are an eligible business, choose the course and the employees, and decide if you are committing to a wage increase or a capital investment.
You submit the Step Up eligibility questionnaire on the Economic Development Department's site. JTIP staff review it and, if you qualify, invite a full application.
The JTIP board approves the award. Your team then takes 10 hours of live, instructor-led training over 4 to 5 weeks on paid time, and you pay the course invoice.
You claim up to 75% of the eligible cost, up to $6,000 per employee, on the terms in your award. We confirm the claim steps and timing with JTIP when your application goes in.
Plan your AI rollout as two budgets: training through Step Up, and implementation as its own project. Our free AI capability audit maps the second one.
Yes, through Step Up, if your business qualifies. Step Up reimburses up to 75% of the cost of training current employees, up to $6,000 per employee. AI is not named, but training on newly implemented technologies and processes is an eligible category.
Up to 75% of eligible training costs, capped at $6,000 per employee. On a $3,000 seat that is up to $2,250. Four seats at $12,000 bring back up to $9,000 if approved. No per-company cap is published.
Manufacturers, and service businesses that earn more than 50% of their revenue from customers outside New Mexico, that have operated in New Mexico for at least one year. A local service business selling mainly to New Mexico customers does not qualify, whatever its size.
You commit to one of two things. Either you give trainees a reasonable net wage increase within six months of completing training, or you make a capital investment in new equipment, new technology or changes to production within a year of the training. The questionnaire asks which applies.
Your current employees. The Step Up page does not set a tenure, full-time, wage or residency rule for trainees. Contractors on 1099s are not employees and should not be counted. We confirm any trainee rules with JTIP when you apply.
Outside instructor fees are a named eligible cost, and travel is eligible too. The state page does not restrict where the trainer is based, but it does not address it either, so we confirm that point with JTIP when your application goes in.
No. Employee salaries are specifically listed as ineligible. You pay your staff as normal for the 10 training hours.
Before training, starting with the Step Up eligibility questionnaire. JTIP staff review it, then invite a full application that goes to the JTIP board. The state does not publish a processing time, so we do not set a start date until the award is approved.
You pay the training costs, then claim up to 75% back, within the $6,000 per-employee cap, under the terms of your award. The state page does not publish the claim steps or payment timing, so we confirm those with JTIP when you apply.
Employee salaries, software, equipment, non-expendable supplies, in-house training space, and mandatory regulatory training such as OSHA, hazard communication and standalone safety courses. Consulting and implementation are not training and do not qualify.
The program is active and the questionnaire is open on the state's site, and the JTIP board continues to approve awards. The state does not publish how much Step Up money remains this year, so we check with JTIP before you plan around a specific amount.
Send the form. We confirm on a 15 minute call that you are an eligible business, then you complete the Step Up questionnaire. Questions for the state go to the Economic Development Department at (505) 827-0300 or info@edd.nm.gov.