North Dakota training grants
Does North Dakota pay for employee training?
Yes. North Dakota runs Technical Skills Training Grant, Track B. There is no approved-provider list standing between you and the trainer you choose. You pick the trainer, pay the invoice, and claim the reimbursement.
Every figure below is read off North Dakota Commerce, Workforce Development Division’s own materials and was last checked on September 22, 2026. Where a number is missing it is because the state publishes none.
Program
Technical Skills Training Grant, Track B
Administered by
North Dakota Commerce, Workforce Development Division
Reimburses
Dollar-for-dollar match
Per employee
No published per-employee cap
Per company
Up to $100,000, or $200,000 on the automation track
Instructor rate
No cap on the instructor rate
Can you pick your trainer
Hire anyone
Does AI training qualify
Not addressed either way
Status today
Worth pursuing
The question that decides it
Can you use the trainer you want?
In most states the answer is yes, because federal regulation 20 CFR 680.530(a) exempts providers of incumbent worker training from the eligible training provider list. That list governs training for jobseekers. It does not govern training for the staff you already have. Where a state funds a program with its own money, it writes its own rules, and that is where the exceptions live.
North Dakota: Hire anyone
A business can apply directly on its own behalf, which is unusual, and no provider list applies. The constraint is geographic but falls on the training rather than the trainer: the training has to take place in North Dakota and most participants have to live and intend to work there.
Does AI training qualify? Not addressed either way
Eligibility turns on whether the occupation appears on the state In-Demand Occupations List. Degree programs are excluded.
What to watch
The online application period was open at the time we checked. We could not find a live Workforce 20/20 program, which appears to have been discontinued or renamed.
Verified at source on September 22, 2026. Program contact: ejmoser@nd.gov.
Official North Dakota sourceThe thing that sinks applications
Training, not consulting.
Every one of these programs funds training. None of them fund someone building you a system. Several states say so outright, and the rejection usually arrives after the work rather than before it.
The reimbursable version of the work has defined instructional hours, more than one person in the room, W-2 employees rather than contractors, and something at the end that shows who completed it. The implementation work alongside it is a normal business expense. Better to know that before you apply than after.
Questions we get
North Dakota, specifically.
- Does North Dakota pay for training employees we already have?
- Yes. North Dakota runs Technical Skills Training Grant, Track B. There is no approved-provider list standing between you and the trainer you choose. You pick the trainer, pay the invoice, and claim the reimbursement. Reimburses Dollar-for-dollar match. Up to $100,000, or $200,000 on the automation track per company.
- Can we use our own training provider in North Dakota?
- Hire anyone. A business can apply directly on its own behalf, which is unusual, and no provider list applies. The constraint is geographic but falls on the training rather than the trainer: the training has to take place in North Dakota and most participants have to live and intend to work there.
- Does AI training qualify in North Dakota?
- Not addressed either way. Eligibility turns on whether the occupation appears on the state In-Demand Occupations List. Degree programs are excluded.
- Is the North Dakota program open right now?
- Worth pursuing. The online application period was open at the time we checked. We could not find a live Workforce 20/20 program, which appears to have been discontinued or renamed.
- Do these grants pay for consulting or implementation work?
- No. These are training programs. Several states explicitly exclude consulting, coaching and course development. If the work is building you a system it is not reimbursable; if it is instructor-led training for your W-2 staff with defined hours and a completion record, it generally is.
Nearby
The rest of the Plains.
If you employ people in more than one state, these are the neighbors worth comparing against. The terms differ more than you would expect.
Work out what your team qualifies for.
We will read North Dakota’s rules with you and tell you what your team qualifies for, including when the answer is nothing. We deliver AI training across New England and are a registered provider under the Massachusetts program. Outside the region we will say plainly whether we are the right trainer for your state or whether you want someone local.