South Dakota's Workforce Development Program reimburses up to 50% of eligible training costs, matched dollar for dollar by the employer, with a typical award of $1,000 per trainee. It comes with firm conditions: full-time trainees earning at least $19.50 an hour, employer-paid health insurance, technical training, and a raise tied to the training. We are confirming whether outside trainer fees count before we quote a number.
The Governor's Office of Economic Development runs the Workforce Development Program. It pays South Dakota companies back for up to 50% of eligible training costs, with every state dollar matched by a company dollar. The state describes a typical award as $1,000 per trainee.
The program was built for companies that are growing and need skilled staff. Trainees have to be full time and earn at least $19.50 an hour before training begins, the company has to pay part of their health insurance, and existing employees have to get a raise that results from the training. The training itself has to be technical. Soft skills qualify only alongside hard-skills training.
The eligible-cost list in the guidelines names wages, benefits, the value of equipment during training, consumable supplies and training-related travel. It does not name outside trainer or tuition fees. That does not rule them out, but it is the question we are confirming with the state before we tell any South Dakota employer what to expect.
If it fits, the program gives small and mid-sized South Dakota companies a way to train staff to automate repetitive work, pay them more for it, and compete with larger, better-funded competitors.
For South Dakota companies with employees at a South Dakota location. Priority goes to the Governor's key industries. Companies that used the program before need to meet their earlier employee-count benchmark or request a waiver.
The guidelines list wages, benefits, the value of equipment during the training period, consumable supplies and training-related travel. Equipment purchases are not eligible. Outside trainer and tuition fees are not named in the published list, and we are confirming how they are treated.
Apply at least three weeks before training starts and expect a response in about 30 days. Payments are per person: most of each trainee's amount after the initial report, the rest after a follow-up report six months later with current wages.
A 25-person manufacturer sends four full-time technicians through one course. Tuition is $12,000. At the typical $1,000 per trainee, about $4,000 would come back if approved and if trainer fees are eligible, most of it after the initial report and the rest six months later. We confirm the eligible costs before you count on that.
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.
South Dakota wants technical, hard-skills training that leads to a raise, so the practical courses fit its rules most naturally: the finance, field service and Claude Code courses teach concrete tools and workflows. Choose trainees whose wage will go up when the new skills are in use.
A 15 minute call to confirm wages, benefits, full-time status and the planned raise, choose the course, and choose the employees who will attend.
You submit the Workforce Development application to the Governor's Office of Economic Development at least three weeks before training starts. Expect a response in about 30 days.
Your team takes 10 hours of live, instructor-led training over 4 to 5 weeks. You pay the course invoice.
You file an initial report with each trainee's start wage and completion, and most of the funding for each person is paid. Six months later you file a follow-up report with current wages, and the rest is paid.
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.
Possibly, and we are confirming it. The Governor's Office of Economic Development's Workforce Development Program reimburses up to 50% of eligible training costs, matched by the company, for technical training. The state's materials do not mention AI, and the published eligible-cost list does not name outside trainer fees, so we confirm both before you apply.
The state describes a typical award as $1,000 per trainee, and the rate is up to 50% of eligible costs. On a $3,000 seat, the typical award would cover about a third. Four trainees would mean about $4,000 back at the typical amount, if the course is approved and trainer fees are eligible.
South Dakota companies with employees at a South Dakota location that offer health insurance with part of the premium paid by the company. Priority goes to the Governor's key industries. Companies that used the program before need to meet their earlier employee-count benchmark or request a waiver.
Full-time employees earning at least $19.50 an hour before training begins. The wage floor can be waived in communities of fewer than 5,000 people. For new hires, the positions have to come from company growth, not turnover or retirement.
Yes, for existing employees. South Dakota requires that trainees receive a wage increase as a result of the training, and you report current wages in a follow-up report six months after the initial one. The guidelines do not set a minimum amount.
We are confirming that. The program covers technical, hard-skills training, and soft or academic skills qualify only when combined with hard-skills training. Courses built around specific tools and workflows are the stronger case.
South Dakota publishes no approved-provider list, but its eligible-cost list does not name outside trainer fees, and that is the question we are confirming. Our trainer is based in Massachusetts. We will tell you in writing what the state says before you apply.
Wages and benefits are on the published eligible-cost list. The program covers up to 50% of eligible costs, matched by you.
At least three weeks before training starts. The state says to expect a response about 30 days after a complete application, so plan more lead time than three weeks.
Per person, in two payments. Most of each trainee's funding is paid after the initial report, which lists names, start wages and completion. The rest is paid after a follow-up report six months later with current wages.
Equipment purchases, consulting and implementation, and software for the business are not training costs. Soft skills alone do not qualify either.
Send the form. We confirm wages, benefits, full-time status and the planned raise on a 15 minute call and share what the state confirms about trainer fees. Program questions can also go to the Governor's Office of Economic Development at 605-773-4633 or Stephanie.Deyo@state.sd.us.