Manufacturers and MMA engaged with legislators to successfully advocate for additional funding for the Going PRO Talent Fund, a demand-driven program that has awarded more than $100 million to employers since 2014.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Fiscal Year 2020 budget recommendation included a decrease for the Going PRO Talent Fund, to a total of $27.9 million, down from $29.1 million in Fiscal Year 2019. The House approved budget, passed in June 2019, concurred with the Governor’s recommendation of $27.9 million. The Senate, however, included in their May-passed budget an additional $10 million for a total of $37.9 million.

A conference committee met to iron out differences between the two versions of the budget and, thanks to strong manufacturing outreach, approved $36.5 million for Fiscal Year 2020. While Governor Whitmer must still approve the appropriation for the funding to become a reality, the Legislature's final recommendation represents a 25% increase over current year funding and a record funding level since the inception of the program.

Contact MMA's Delaney McKinley for more on this program and other efforts by MMA to bolster Michigan's talent pool.

Contact Delaney McKinley

Senior Director of Government Affairs and Membership
Call 517-487-8530
E-mail mckinley@mimfg.org