Workforce

WORKFORCE & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Economic and workforce development are the cornerstones of GMNP's advocacy. In order to ensure that Greater Minnesota's economy can thrive, our businesses, workers, and communities need support and resources. GMNP works to secure funding for key programs and priorities, including technical assistance to help small businesses access resources, funds to help communities clean up and redevelop blighted areas, education and training incentives for employers and workers, and help to attract and retain key businesses and ensure all Minnesotans have access to good jobs.

The GMNP supports state investments in programs that create job growth, maintain existing employment opportunities, and enhance innovation to meet the needs of Greater Minnesota communities, businesses, and employees.

PROGRAMS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

Click here for a current list of all DEED competitive grants and contracts.

Workforce Development

Greater Minnesota Job Training Incentive Program

This program provides grants of up to $200,000 to employers located outside of the seven-county metro area for a portion of the training costs incurred in hiring new employees.

Minnesota Job Skills Training Partnership Program

The Minnesota Job Skills Partnership Program supports Minnesota businesses who partner with an accredited Minnesota educational institution to develop and deliver custom training specific to business needs. Grants of up to $400,000 are available, which must be matched by the participating business.

Transformative Career Pathway Competitive Grants (Targeted Populations)

This program focuses on skills training and support services to bring populations of workers who have been historically overlooked and often face multiple barriers to employment into the workforce at family-sustaining wages.

Transformative Career Pathway Diversity & Inclusion for Small Employers

This program funds training for eligible Minnesota small businesses to increase their ability to engage, hire, and retain people of color in a variety of roles.

Drive for Five Initiative

The Drive for Five initiative is a new competitive job training program created in 2023 for high-demand jobs in technology, labor, caring professions, manufacturing, and education. Drive for 5 prioritizes training for populations that face the largest disparities in employment: people of color, people with disabilities, people who lack stable housing, and other people who face barriers to family-sustaining employment.

Business & Community Development

Greater Minnesota Business Development Public Infrastructure Grant Program (BDPI)

The Greater Minnesota Business Development Infrastructure Grant Program helps stimulate new economic development, create new jobs and retains existing jobs through investments in public infrastructure. It provides grants to cities of up to 50% of the capital costs of the public infrastructure necessary to expand or retain jobs in the area, increase the tax base, or expand or create new economic development.

Small Business Assistance Partnerships Program

DEED partners with local and regional community-based organizations across the state to support the startup, growth, and success of Minnesota’s diverse entrepreneurs and small business owners through the delivery of high quality free or low cost professional business development and technical assistance services.

Minnesota Investment Fund

The Minnesota Investment Fund provides financing to help add new workers and retain high-quality jobs on a statewide basis. The focus is on industrial, manufacturing, and technology-related industries to increase the local and state tax base and improve economic vitality statewide.

Minnesota Job Creation Fund

The Job Creation Fund provides financial incentives to new and expanding businesses that meet certain job creation and capital investment targets. Companies deemed eligible to participate may receive up to $1 million for creating or retaining high-paying jobs and for constructing or renovating facilities or making other property improvements. In some cases, companies may receive awards of up to $2 million.

Redevelopment Grant Program

The Redevelopment Grant Program helps communities with the costs of redeveloping blighted industrial, residential, or commercial sites and putting land back into productive use.

Site Cleanup and Redevelopment

Reclaiming and redeveloping contaminated and blighted properties is essential for communities to remain vital and in the best possible position to attract new commercial, industrial and residential growth.

OTHER RESOURCES

REPORTS AND DATA

2025 LEGISLATIVE OUTCOMES

The Jobs bill funds many key economic and workforce development programs, including support for small business technical assistance, employee training programs, increased child care capacity, brownfield redevelopment, and funds to help communities attract and retain employers. These programs have a significant impact on business and economic development in Minnesota are critical to help build a thriving economy throughout the state.

However, workforce and economic development efforts also faced significant budget challenges during the 2025 session. Leadership set targets to cut $30 million in spending for FY26-27 and cut $40 million for FY28-29. While the GMNP pushed for additional investments in key areas, we spent many hours fighting against cuts to critical economic development programs.

GMNP Workforce & Economic Development Priorities

Advocate for ongoing funding for the Drive for Five workforce training program and ensure the program is effective in training and placing workers in high-demand occupations.
Monitor the Job Training Incentive Program (JTIP) and the Minnesota Job Skills Partnership Programs to ensure appropriate funding and resource deployment.
Monitor funding for key economic development programs including the Minnesota Investment Fund, Job Creation Fund, Minnesota Forward Fund, redevelopment funds, small business programs, Competitiveness Fund, and the Climate Innovation Finance Authority.

Key Funding Allocations - Economic Development

Program	FY26-27	FY28-29
BDPI	$4.574M (base)	$4.574M (base)
Small Business Assistance Partnerships Program	$5.45M (base)	$3.45M (-$2M cut)
Child Care Economic Development Grants	$3M (base)	$3M (base)
Office of Child Care Community Partnerships	$1M (base)	$1M (base)
Minnesota Investment Fund (MIF)	$24.74M (base)	$24.74M (base)
Job Creation Fund (JCF)	$9.9M (-$6.1M cut)	$11.2M (-$4.8M cut)
Redevelopment Grants	$2.492M (-$2M cut)	$11.2M (-$4.8M cut)
Cleanup Funds	$3.544M (base) + $1.4M remediation fund	$2.044M (-$1.5M cut)

Key Funding Allocations - Workforce Development

Program	FY26-27	FY28-29
Drive for Five	$12M	Not in base
Pathways to Prosperity	$21M (adds $6.858M)	$14.896M (base)
Job Training Incentive Program (JTIP)	$2.7M	$2.7M
Minnesota Job Skills Partnership	$8.39M	$8.39M
Comprehensive Review of Department Grant Processes	$150K	-
Task Force on Workforce Development Reform	$150K	-

LATEST UPDATES

MN DEED: Governor Walz announces millions in workforce training grants

December 23, 2025

Content from Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development. Click here to read the full press release. [ST. PAUL, MN] – Governor Tim Walz and the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) today announced the recipients of $8.8 million in grants to grow Minnesota’s workforce through the Drive for 5 Workforce initiative. Drive for 5…

November budget forecast: Down, up, then down again

December 3, 2025

Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) released its November forecast this morning, providing an updated look at the state’s fiscal situation in the current biennium as well as the 2028-29 biennium. The forecast shows both good and bad news. The good news is that the 2024-25 biennium ended with a general fund balance that was $941…

Applications open for MPCA brownfield grants

October 9, 2025

Abandoned gas stations, former dry cleaners or old manufacturing spaces exist in every community. Properties like these-called brownfields-can be a challenge to redevelop and often sit idle for years due to risks of perceived contamination. This can lead to neighborhood blight, unsafe structures, and polluted spaces that can harm people and the environment. The Minnesota…

North Star Promise report provides insight into potential student workforce development in Greater MN communities

October 9, 2025

Recently, the Office of Higher Education released a preliminary report about the North Star Promise program from the 2024-25 school year. The North Star Promise program served 53,567 students during the 2024-25 school year. The North Star Promise provides scholarships to Minnesota residents with an adjusted gross income of $80,000 or less to attend a…

DEED now accepting applications for Contamination Cleanup/Investigation & RAP Development grants

August 28, 2025

The Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), through its Brownfields and Redevelopment Unit, is accepting grant applications through the Contamination Cleanup and Investigation and RAP Development Grant Program. This grant program assists local communities with the investigation and cleanup of soil, soil vapor, and groundwater contamination at previously or currently developed sites. Sites where…

DEED: Businesses report cautious optimism, but higher costs, for year ahead

August 4, 2025

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development announced survey results today that indicate that while businesses in Minnesota have concerns about operating costs, consumer spending, and inflation, they expect revenue and productivity to increase or stay the same over the next year. Read the full press release here. Contact: info@gmnp.org (651) 259-1908