Utah's Custom Fit program pays part of the cost of training current employees at for-profit Utah companies. It is run by 11 regional colleges, and each one sets its own share: the state requires employers to cover at least 40%, and the colleges we checked pay up to 40% or up to 50%. You pay the trainer, then get reimbursed. We check with your college that the course qualifies before you apply.
Custom Fit has run for more than 40 years. The Legislature funds it each year, the Utah System of Higher Education oversees it, and 11 regional colleges run it for their own counties: Bridgerland, Davis, Dixie, Mountainland, Ogden-Weber, Southwest and Tooele technical colleges, UB Tech, Salt Lake Community College, Snow College and Utah State University.
The program pays a share of the cost of training your current employees and you pay the rest. The state requires employers to cover at least 40%. Each college sets its own share within that, and the ones we checked publish up to 40% or up to 50%. There is no published per-trainee or per-company cap, and applications are funded first come, first served.
The list of eligible training is broad: technical skills, safety certifications, computer skills, leadership and service improvement. Southwest Tech describes it as any professional training that helps your business and employees. The state materials do not mention AI by name, so we confirm with your college that a live AI course fits before you apply.
What varies is how each college handles an outside trainer. Southwest Tech and Utah State University reimburse training you pay for, once you send proof of payment and attendance. Salt Lake Community College routes Custom Fit through its own corporate training team. We have not confirmed that every college will fund a trainer based outside Utah, so that is the first question we ask. The point of the money is simple: it lets a small or mid-sized Utah company train its staff to automate repetitive work and keep up with larger, better-funded competitors.
For for-profit companies located in Utah that are training their current employees. Non-profits qualify only with special approval. Funded each year by the Legislature and run by the regional college for your county.
Training for current employees: technical skills, safety certifications, computer skills, leadership and service improvement. It is a training program, so consulting and implementation work do not qualify.
Apply to your college before the training begins, one application per training, and sign the agreement the college sends. Pay the invoice in full. Then send proof of payment, the attendee list with hours, the training details and a W-9 within 30 days of the training ending, which is the rule at Southwest Tech and Utah State University.
A 20-person Utah company sends four people through one course. Tuition is $12,000. At a 40% college, up to $4,800 comes back if approved, and the company's cost is $7,200. At a 50% college, up to $6,000 comes back.
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 Utah the share is set by your college, not by the course, so the course choice does not change the rate. Pick the room first, then we confirm the course with your college.
A 15 minute call to confirm you are a for-profit Utah business with W-2 staff, identify your college by county, and choose the course and the employees who will attend.
We check with your college that the course and the trainer can be funded and what share applies. You submit the college's application before training starts, one per training, and sign the agreement it sends if approved.
Your team takes 10 hours of live, instructor-led training over 4 to 5 weeks. You pay the course invoice in full.
Within 30 days of the training ending you send proof of payment, the attendee list with hours, the training outline and a W-9. The college then processes the reimbursement.
Plan your AI rollout as two budgets: training through Custom Fit, and implementation as its own project. Our free AI capability audit maps the second one.
Yes, through Custom Fit, if your regional college agrees the course fits. Custom Fit pays part of the cost of training current employees at for-profit Utah companies. AI is not named in the state materials, but the eligible list includes computer skills and any professional training that helps the business, so we confirm the course with your college before you apply.
Between 40% and 60% of the training cost, depending on your college. The state requires employers to pay at least 40%, and the colleges we checked pay up to 40% or up to 50%. On a $3,000 seat that is up to $1,200 at 40% or $1,500 at 50%. Four seats at $12,000 bring back up to $4,800 or $6,000 if approved.
The one that serves your county. Salt Lake Community College covers Salt Lake County, Mountainland covers Summit, Wasatch and Utah counties, Davis covers Davis and Morgan, Ogden-Weber covers Weber, Bridgerland covers Box Elder, Cache and Rich, and the other six colleges cover the rest of the state. Tell us your county on the form and we will confirm.
For-profit businesses located in Utah, of any size. Salt Lake Community College also asks for a valid Utah business license. Non-profits qualify only with special approval for significant economic impact, and colleges can prioritize retention, expansion and regional needs.
Your current employees. Custom Fit is for incumbent workers, not new hires, and Salt Lake Community College specifies current W-2 employees, so 1099 contractors do not count. The pages we read do not set a full-time, wage or residency rule.
It depends on the college. Southwest Tech and Utah State University reimburse training you buy, and ask for the instructor's details with your paperwork. Salt Lake Community College runs Custom Fit through its own training team. No page we read addresses trainers based outside Utah, so we confirm that with your college first.
No. The colleges describe reimbursing training costs, not payroll. Plan on paying your employees as normal for the 10 training hours.
Before the training starts, with one application per training. Awards are first come, first served. The colleges do not publish an approval time, so we build in lead time and do not set a start date until the college has signed off.
After training, and only after you have paid the invoice in full. At Southwest Tech and Utah State University you send proof of payment, the attendee list with hours, the training outline and a W-9 within 30 days of the training ending. Utah State University also asks first-time applicants to register in PaymentWorks, its payment system.
Consulting, implementation, software and AI tool licenses, and anything that is not training. The pages we read do not list travel as an eligible cost, so do not count on it.
Custom Fit is funded every year by the Legislature and is active. In its most recent annual report it served 1,847 companies and 16,673 employees. Because awards are first come, first served, it pays to apply early in the year and to confirm with your college that funds remain.
Send the form with your county. We confirm the basics on a 15 minute call, identify your college, and check the share and the course with them before you apply.