MMA Helps Members Maximize Use of Michigan’s Going PRO Talent Fund

This article appeared in the April 2026 issue of MiMfg Magazine. Read the full issue and find past issues online.

Since its inception in 2014, Michigan’s Going PRO Talent Fund has been the state’s principal funding resource to help Michigan businesses of all sizes address their short-term talent development needs. The Fund has provided over $220 million through nearly 9,000 awards, with over 5,200 of those awards going to companies with fewer than 100 employees.

Many small and mid-size manufacturers — which make up the vast majority of MMA’s membership — would not be able to upskill their workers without these funds. And for the others, Going PRO makes it possible for them to train more people because their training dollars can be stretched further.

For Michigan’s current Fiscal Year 2026 budget, Going PRO was reduced from its prior year total of nearly $55 million to $32 million. This reduction translates to fewer grants awarded at reduced amounts and the maximum award per employer site cut in half. Even so, Going PROremains a valuable resource for Michigan employers, and the need for upskilling workers is greater than ever before thanks to increased technology deployment in the workplace. Maximizing your company’s ability to use these funds is critical.

Leveraging Going PRO Funds

MMA’s Workforce Solutions team has been helping Michigan manufacturers leverage Going PRO funds since MMA launched the division in April 2022. One of the key ways we’ve done this is through promotion of and assistance with applying for Going PRO Employer Led Collaborative (ELC) funding.

Separate from the more well-known Cycle 1 and 2 rounds of “independent” awards, the ELC funding round — which takes place between the two individual company rounds — supports collaboration by employers (four or more preferred) to address a shared training need. The employers need not be geographically near each other or even in the same industry.

ELC funding must be used for short-term training — not more than six months in duration — and is restricted to classroom training (either in-person or instructor-led virtual) with an exception for Registered Apprentice training which can include On-the-Job Training (OJT) wage reimbursement for training conducted at the workplace.

So how does applying for ELC funding help your company maximize its use of Going PRO? Most importantly, an employer can receive BOTH an independent AND an ELC award in the same state fiscal year. From a practical perspective, this allows a company to double the amount of training dollars it can use for each individual employee.

Under an independent award in either Cycle 1 or Cycle 2, a company can receive up to $2,000 per employee or $3,500 per U.S. Dept. of Labor Registered Apprentice. And in that same year, the company can be awarded an ELC that provides another $2,000 (or $3,500) for those same or other employees to receive additional training. The current maximum total funding per company — for independent and/or ELC awards combined — is $250,000.

Over the past few years, MMA has successfully assisted multiple collaboratives with applying for Going PRO ELC awards. In 2026, we’ve launched a new offering in response to manufacturers expressing a huge need for high-impact operations and leadership training that’s tailor-made for Going PRO ELCs. MMA has partnered with Frontline Training Solutions and The Luminous Group to create a training package that combines high-impact Supervisor Bootcamp, Leadership Foundations and Purpose-Driven Leadership courses from Frontline with technical “hard skill” Process Improvement, Project Management and A3 Problem Solving classes from The Luminous Group.

Frontline’s offerings build the “who” of leadership — equipping supervisors with the mindset, confidence and purpose needed to lead people effectively while The Luminous Group’s training complements this by strengthening the “how,” providing practical, immediately applicable skills to solve problems, improve processes and manage projects that drive measurable business results.

Get Involved and Get More

By the time you’re reading this article, we expect the 2026 round of ELC funding to have opened and at least one statewide collaborative facilitated by MMA to have applied. Since ELC applications continue to be accepted “until the money runs out,” we hope to be able to assist additional collaboratives to maximize usage of Going PRO Talent Funds.

If your company could benefit from more highly skilled front-line supervisors and operations leaders and is interested in joining with other employers that share that need, contact MMA at training@mimfg.org.