DOL competition status: checked September 13, 2026
DOL lists spring 2026 deadlines for Pay-for-Performance (FOA-ETA-26-19), RESTART (FOA-ETA-26-17, April 15), and Strengthening Community Colleges Round 6 (FOA-ETA-26-40, May 20). Its awards list includes 2026 Pay-for-Performance and RESTART awards. Treat these three spring rounds as historical examples. A new application needs a confirmed current application window. Search workforce funding or check DOL funding announcements and awarded grants. Verify the official notice and its amendments before relying on a deadline or an applicant requirement. Editing note: this page was rewritten for length and plain language on September 17, 2026, and two dates it could not support were removed. The earlier draft gave the Pay-for-Performance deadline as April 3, 2026; the record we hold for that competition is a forecast listing with no published close date, so no deadline is asserted for it here. The Stand Down Grants date was corrected to the August 31, 2026 close date on its posted listing, which the June 12 snapshot gave as September 30. The three spring DOL competitions were rechecked September 13, 2026. The SNAP E&T section and its FAQ were corrected September 23, 2026 using the linked USDA and state provider guidance. Other program background below was not re-verified and remains the June 12, 2026 snapshot.
FY2026 top-line numbers
Congress rejected the proposed Make America Skilled Again block grant and signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 (H.R. 7148) on February 3, 2026, which funds Labor, HHS and Education program by program for the full year. For workforce boards, training providers, community colleges and nonprofits, that means the existing program structures and their set-asides are intact for FY2026. Top-line FY2026 numbers under the Department of Labor: - WIOA Title I State Grants (Adult, Youth, Dislocated Worker combined): approximately $2.919 billion - Job Corps: approximately $1.8 billion - Registered Apprenticeship: $285 million - Reentry Employment Opportunities (REO): $110 million - RESTART Initiative (competitive): $81 million - Pay-for-Performance (PfP) Incentive Payments Program (competitive): $145 million - Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grants, Round 6 (competitive): $65 million Outside DOL, HRSA runs health workforce training, USDA's Food and Nutrition Service runs SNAP Employment and Training, and most states layer their own employer-facing grants on top of the formula funds. One change hits the demand side on July 1, 2026. Workforce Pell Grants extend need-based federal aid to short-term training at accredited institutions, so a provider that builds a qualifying program gains a student pipeline that does not depend on an annual grant cycle.
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WIOA formula grants and how they reach a provider
WIOA runs on a July 1 to June 30 program year. Nobody applies to the federal government for formula money. The appropriation goes to ETA, which allocates to states on poverty, unemployment and concentration formulas. States reserve up to 15 percent for statewide activities and pass the rest to Local Workforce Development Boards, which contract with One-Stop operators and approved training providers. The chain from appropriation to a worker holding a training account runs roughly 60 to 90 days. Title I Adult: approximately $875.6 million. Serves adults 18 and older who are unemployed, underemployed or seeking better work. Individuals receive individual training accounts usable at approved providers. A training provider reaches this money by getting onto its state's Eligible Training Provider List. Start with your state workforce agency or the American Job Center finder at careeronestop.org. Title I Youth: approximately $948.1 million. Serves ages 14 to 24 with barriers to employment, including foster care, homelessness, parenting, disability, English language learners and justice involvement. At least 75 percent must serve out-of-school youth, with state waivers available under TEGL 05-25. Programs must offer at least three of fourteen elements, among them occupational skills training, work experience, mentoring and financial literacy. Providers respond to their Local Board's own Request for Proposals. Find the board at careeronestop.org/LocalHelp. Title I Dislocated Worker: approximately $1.0955 billion. Serves laid-off workers, workers under notice and the long-term unemployed, plus self-employed people who lost a business to economic conditions and relocating military spouses. A quarter of the allocation is reserved for Rapid Response, which lets a state put a team into a company that has announced layoffs before the layoffs happen. Same access path as Adult. Title II Adult Education, administered by the Department of Education, funds adult basic and secondary education and English language acquisition on four-year competitive cycles run inside each state. School districts, community colleges, nonprofits and libraries are eligible. Apply to your State Adult Education Director. Title III Wagner-Peyser funds the labor exchange inside American Job Centers and is not competitively grantable federally, though states sometimes contract out delivery. Title IV Vocational Rehabilitation runs about $3.7 billion in FY2026 across the state grant programs, administered by the Rehabilitation Services Administration on a 78.7 percent federal match. The number that matters most to a provider is the state's own Title I allocation. California received $438.3 million in combined Title I formula funds for PY 2025-2026 (EDD notice WSIN24-45), with Texas, New York and Florida next. The state-by-state table is in the Federal Register notice of May 19, 2025.
The 2026 DOL competitive rounds, as historical examples
ETA also runs competitive grants that organizations apply for directly. The three 2026 rounds below have passed their listed deadlines and appear here as worked examples of what DOL funds and whom it lets apply. Check the status note above before planning around any of them. Pay-for-Performance Incentive Payments (FOA-ETA-26-19). $145 million, awards of $10 million to $40 million, up to 5 awards, and its 2026 round has closed. The only date on our record for it, March 20, 2026, came from a forecast listing that carries no published close date, so take the deadline from the official notice and not from here. Cooperative agreements that pay program sponsors incentives for new apprentices or apprentice cohorts, aimed at expanding Registered Apprenticeship. Eligible applicants ran wide: state agencies and territories, national industry groups, labor-management organizations, economic development entities, apprenticeship and workforce intermediaries, consulting organizations and consortia of any of those. Faith-based organizations were explicitly encouraged. RESTART (FOA-ETA-26-17). $81 million, listed deadline April 15, 2026. Announced February 25, 2026, RESTART replaced the earlier REO competitive model. It funds pre-release and post-release employment services for justice-involved people, aimed at registered apprenticeships, the skilled trades and advanced manufacturing. Eligible applicants were state governments and workforce agencies, intermediary organizations, and Native American tribal governments and organizations. Strengthening Community Colleges Round 6 (FOA-ETA-26-40). $65 million, awards of $6.5 million to $10.8 million, 6 to 10 grants, no more than one per state, listed deadline May 20, 2026. Round 6 asked applicants to show how they would build capacity for Workforce Pell-eligible short-term training, which makes it a bridge into the July 1 change. Higher education institutions and consortia were eligible, with community colleges the target and four-year partners admitted inside a consortium. Applications had to show industry-driven design with documented employer commitments, integration with the state WIOA system, credential pathways and student tracking. Reentry Employment Opportunities base funding: $110 million. Separate from RESTART, this supports existing grantees serving justice-involved youth and adults through employment services, transitional jobs and YouthBuild-style programs. New competitive notices appear periodically at reo.workforcegps.org.
Job Corps and Registered Apprenticeship
Job Corps, approximately $1.8 billion in FY2026. Job Corps is the largest career technical education and training program in the country for at-risk youth ages 16 to 24, running more than 120 residential and non-residential centers. The FY2026 enacted package restored funding to close to prior levels after a 2025 proposal to close contractor-operated centers, and a federal court injunction currently requires DOL to keep centers open while the litigation continues. Centers are federally contracted, so for most organizations this is not a grant to apply for. The available roles are community partner for wraparound services, employer partner hiring graduates, or subcontractor to a center operator. Graduates hold credentials across more than 100 pathways, mostly construction, manufacturing, healthcare, transportation and information technology. Start with the regional center, listed at jobcorps.gov. Registered Apprenticeship, $285 million in FY2026, flat since FY2023. The Office of Apprenticeship spends it three ways: State Apprenticeship Expansion grants to state apprenticeship agencies, typically $1 million to $3 million per state per year; National Expansion grants to intermediaries, industry associations, Joint Apprenticeship Training Committees and sponsors, historically large (the 2019 sector-based program awarded $184 million across 23 grantees); and technical assistance that funds the WorkforceGPS communities, the data infrastructure and ApprenticeshipUSA. Registering an apprenticeship program with the Office of Apprenticeship or a State Apprenticeship Agency is free. Grant money layers on top to subsidize recruitment, curriculum and on-the-job training wages. DOL's AI Literacy Framework (TEN 07-25, February 13, 2026) pushes AI literacy into apprenticeship programs, and cybersecurity, data analytics and cloud computing are named priority sectors. Open notices are listed at apprenticeship.gov. On-the-job training under WIOA. Title I funds reimburse an employer for up to 50 percent of a new employee's wages during structured training, and up to 75 to 90 percent for small businesses or hard-to-serve populations under state waivers. There is no separate application. It flows through Local Boards to employers working with American Job Centers.
SNAP Employment and Training
SNAP Employment and Training (E&T) supports employment services for eligible SNAP participants through state programs. Its 100-percent federal grants to states are separate from its 50-percent reimbursement stream. A provider should not assume that 50/50 funding pays its entire bill. Budget for partial reimbursement North Carolina's provider guidance describes a third-party model in which contracted providers pay costs upfront with non-federal funds and may receive up to 50% of allowable expenses. They must track costs, keep records and invoice under state and federal requirements. For example, if all $500,000 of a provider's costs qualify for reimbursement at 50%, the federal share is $250,000. The remaining $250,000 is non-federal funding, not an additional federal refund. The provider agreement determines the amount paid and payment timing; this is not a promise of zero net cost. Start with the state program North Carolina lists training and participant supports such as transportation, childcare and testing fees. Its provider enrollment process is one state example, not a nationwide application. Ask your state SNAP E&T agency about provider approval, eligible participants, allowable services, acceptable non-federal funding and invoicing before committing funds. What changed in federal cost sharing? USDA's June 24, 2026 proposed rule explains that the 2025 law reducing the federal share of general SNAP administrative costs does not change the 50% E&T administrative-cost and participant-reimbursement rates. This is distinct from the 100-percent E&T grants. Confirm your state agreement rather than treating other SNAP cost-sharing changes as a new provider reimbursement rate.
Sector Partnership and Industry-Specific Workforce Grants
Beyond the core WIOA and DOL infrastructure, sector-specific workforce grants target training in high-demand industries. These programs typically award larger individual grants and expect stronger employer engagement. Healthcare Workforce: HRSA Grants The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), housed within HHS, administers the country's largest portfolio of healthcare workforce development grants. Key programs for 2026: *Nurse Corps Scholarship Program:* Covers tuition, fees, and other educational costs for nursing students in exchange for a minimum two-year service commitment at a Critical Shortage Facility. Applications open in spring 2026 for the FY2026 cohort. Eligible: U.S. nursing students enrolled in accredited programs. *Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program (FY2026):* Pays 60% of outstanding qualifying nursing education loan balance for a two-year service commitment at an eligible Critical Shortage Facility, with an option for a third year at an additional 25%. Eligible RNs, APRNs, and nurse faculty can apply. The FY2026 application guidance is published at bhw.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/bureau-health-workforce/funding/nursecorps-lrp-guidance.pdf. *National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Scholarship Program:* Covers primary care health professions training for physicians, dentists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and certified nurse-midwives in exchange for practice commitment in Health Professional Shortage Areas. *Health Workforce Shortage Area Grants:* HRSA provides cost-sharing grants to states and territories for programs training health workers in shortage areas. Eligible: state health agencies and community health workforce programs. Application portal for all HRSA workforce grants: hrsa.gov/grants (search by program) or bhw.hrsa.gov/funding Advanced Manufacturing and AI: State-Level and Federal Sector Grants Federal competitive money often reaches employers through a state intermediary rather than directly. Wisconsin's WisTRAIN program, described in the state section below, is one example of that pattern. The move for an employer or provider in another state is to ask the state workforce agency which intermediary grants it holds and when they open. *DOL AI Literacy Framework (TEN 07-25, February 13, 2026):* The DOL issued Training and Employment Notice No. 07-25 to encourage integration of AI literacy training across public workforce and education systems. While the TEN itself does not come with dedicated funding, it creates a programmatic justification for incorporating AI literacy into existing WIOA-funded programs, apprenticeship plans, and discretionary grant applications. Workforce development organizations writing FY2026-2027 grant proposals should reference this framework to align with DOL priorities. Clean Energy Workforce: A Shifting Landscape The Department of Energy's Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC) was funding more than 375 projects focused on workforce training through the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, but DOE has canceled federal cost-share funding for hundreds of grant awards since late 2024. Clean energy workforce grants through DOE are currently in flux. Providers who had active DOE workforce grants should verify their award status directly with their program officer. The most durable clean energy workforce funding channel in 2026 runs through WIOA, specifically, Dislocated Worker funds and sector partnership grants administered by Local WDBs in energy-intensive regions. The $285 million Registered Apprenticeship budget also funds apprenticeship expansion in HVAC, electrical, and solar trades through JATCs. EDA Sectoral Employment Program The Economic Development Administration (EDA) supports regional workforce training systems designing sectoral partnerships for high-demand employers. EDA's PWEDT (Public Works and Economic Development) grants and Workforce Development grants require a 50% local match for most applicants (reduced match for economically distressed areas). Grant amounts typically range from $500,000 to $3 million. Find current EDA funding opportunities at eda.gov/funding/funding-opportunities/all-opportunities.
State employer training programs
State programs sit on top of the formula funds and are usually the fastest money for an employer or a training provider. Three models are worth copying into a search for your own state. Texas Skills Development Fund. Up to $500,000 for a single employer and more for a consortium. The applicant is a public community or technical college partnering with the employer, not the employer itself. No cash match, but the employer is expected to help build the training and to retain or hire the trained workers. Rolling applications reviewed quarterly, at twc.texas.gov. Skills for Small Business, a subset for employers with 100 or fewer staff, pays $2,000 per new employee trained and $1,000 per incumbent, with a per-region annual cap. Ohio TechCred. Reimburses any Ohio employer up to $2,000 per technology credential per employee, capped at $30,000 per organization per round, on quarterly rounds. Reimbursement lands within weeks of credential completion, which makes it a cost-recovery mechanism rather than a planning grant. Apply at techcred.ohio.gov. Wisconsin WisTRAIN. Funded by $7.3 million in federal competitive money announced February 18, 2026, WisTRAIN offers employer grants for occupational skills training in advanced manufacturing and AI, including data analytics, cybersecurity, predictive maintenance and robotics. Applications were expected to open in May 2026. Check the current window with DWD at dwd.wisconsin.gov. To find the equivalent in your state, ask your Local Workforce Development Board, which deals with the state program officers directly, or the employer services staff at your American Job Center, who track the state grant calendar. careeronestop.org lists every state agency.
Workforce Pell Grants, starting July 1, 2026
Starting July 1, 2026, eligible students can use federal Pell Grants for short-term, non-degree training programs at accredited institutions. Pell is need-based aid that until now required a program of at least 600 clock hours, so this opens a funding route that short-course providers never had. What Changes on July 1, 2026 Prior to July 1, Pell was available only for programs of at least 600 clock hours (roughly one academic year). The Workforce Pell expansion, passed by Congress in summer 2025 and implemented through the Department of Education's consensus rulemaking process, creates a new category of eligible programs: - Minimum length: 150 clock hours (approximately 8 weeks full-time) - Maximum length for short-term tier: programs shorter than the traditional academic year - Must lead to a recognized postsecondary credential (industry-recognized credential, license, or certificate) in an in-demand occupation - Must be at an accredited institution eligible to participate in federal student aid programs - Students must be Pell-eligible (financial need requirement applies) Eligible learners include those who already hold a bachelor's degree but not a graduate degree, meaning career changers and upskillers can access Pell for qualifying retraining programs. This is a first. Award amounts: Pell awards are prorated based on program length. A full-year Pell Grant is $7,395 for 2025-2026. A 16-week qualifying workforce program would receive a proportional award (roughly $1,850-$3,700 depending on credit hours and enrollment intensity). What Training Providers Must Do Before July 1, 2026 For community colleges, technical schools, and four-year institutions already participating in federal financial aid: 1. Identify existing short-term programs that meet the clock-hour minimums and credential requirements 2. Obtain state approval for each program (state authorization of workforce programs is a prerequisite) 3. Ensure programs document employer alignment, placement rates and earnings outcomes must be trackable 4. Update financial aid office systems to process Pell for short-term program enrollment 5. Train academic advisors and case managers on the new aid category Why This Matters for Workforce Development Grant Strategy Workforce Pell creates a new revenue stream that does not require annual grant applications. Once a program is approved and students enroll, Pell flows automatically. This changes the economics of short-term training: programs that previously required WIOA Individual Training Accounts or employer sponsorship can now be partially self-funding through student aid. The DOL's Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grants Round 6 (listed deadline May 20, 2026) is specifically designed to fund the infrastructure buildout that enables community colleges to capture Workforce Pell, making SCC6 a bridge grant toward a sustainable funding model. For workforce development directors considering this route, verify current program-approval requirements with the relevant state agency. The listed SCC6 deadline has passed; check DOL notices and amendments before preparing a grant application. Resources: Department of Education negotiated rulemaking documents at ed.gov/policy; NC Community Colleges' Workforce Pell implementation guide at nccommunitycolleges.edu/workforce-pell; UPCEA analysis at upcea.edu.
What DOL reviewers score
Workforce proposals are judged on a narrower set of factors than general nonprofit grants. Five of them decide most outcomes. Labor market data, regional rather than national. Reviewers want the regional unemployment rate against the national one, job posting data for the specific occupation, the wage gap between participants now and the target occupation, and employer letters signed by hiring managers rather than communications staff. Tie the proposed outcomes to the criteria in the specific notice. The 2026 Pay-for-Performance notice, for instance, scored apprenticeship expansion and sponsor incentive payments, so generic employment or wage targets did not establish fit. A precisely defined population. WIOA names its priority groups: low-income, basic skills deficient, justice-involved, foster care alumni, veterans, homeless, displaced homemakers. RESTART and REO fund justice-involved people specifically, and Round 6 targeted community college students seeking short-term credentials. A tighter definition supports a tighter service design and makes the outcome projections credible. Evidence of prior effectiveness. DOL increasingly asks for a research base or prior program data, and evidence-tiered applicants gain scoring preference. Without a formal evaluation, four numbers across at least two cohorts make a usable internal evidence base: employment rate at 90 days, employment rate at 12 months, median hourly wage at placement, credential attainment rate. Performance management infrastructure. Every DOL grant reports quarterly against the WIOA indicators: entered employment, employment retention, median earnings and credential attainment. Name the data system, the person accountable for data quality and the calculation method for each indicator. Applications with no credible data narrative rarely clear technical review. Cost per participant. Reviewers compare it across applications. $20,000 per participant defends better in healthcare and the skilled trades than in job search assistance. Know the benchmark for your sector and explain any deviation. Dates from the June 12, 2026 snapshot, retained as background. Some have passed and none is confirmed open today. - June 20, 2026: PY2026 National Farmworker Jobs Program competitions (career services training, housing services, youth services) - July 1, 2026: Workforce Pell takes effect - July 23, 2026: Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities Round 7, Appalachian and Delta regions - August 31, 2026: Stand Down Grants for veteran-serving organizations Current notices live at dol.gov/grants, simpler.grants.gov, grants.gov, workforcegps.org, and your state workforce agency's site.