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Skills for Small Business: free training money

A state grant that pays for community college training for employers with fewer than 100 employees. A gift you can bring on a visit.

By The BRE Brief · Published Oct 2, 2026 · 3 min read

A community college classroom with workers at laptops, an instructor at the board and Arlo at the back
Quick answer

Skills for Small Business is a Texas Workforce Commission grant that pays a public community or technical college to train employees of businesses with fewer than 100 employees. TWC lists $2,000 per new employee and $1,000 per existing employee. The business applies to TWC; the EDC's job is to tell owners it exists.

EffortOne conversation per employer
BudgetNone. The state pays the college.
Who runs itTexas Workforce Commission, with your local college

What is Skills for Small Business?

The Texas Workforce Commission's Skills for Small Business program pays for training at a public community or technical college for businesses with fewer than 100 employees. TWC lists $2,000 per new employee and $1,000 per incumbent employee, and the business applies to TWC directly. Katy EDC lists it on its BRE incentives page, which is where it belongs.

Most owners have never heard of it. That makes it one of the best things you can carry into a business visit.

Why does it work?

  • It costs your organization nothing.
  • It connects the employer to the college, which is a relationship that outlasts the grant.
  • You can count the dollars it brought into town.

How do you start Skills for Small Business?

  1. Read TWC's employer page and the current amounts.
  2. Call your community college's workforce office and ask who handles these applications.
  3. Add a one-page flyer to your visit packet.
  4. Sit with the owner and fill out the interest form together.
  5. Log every application and report the training dollars in your BRE numbers.

Texas examples

What to watch out for

  • Funding is limited and first come. Apply early in the fiscal year.
  • Courses have to come from the college's catalog. No third-party trainers.

Pair it with: the visitation program. This is the handout that makes the visit worth the owner's time.

Questions directors ask

Who is eligible for Skills for Small Business?

Private businesses with fewer than 100 employees, for full-time employees.

Where does the training happen?

At a public community or technical college, from its existing course catalog. No third-party trainers.

What does the EDC do?

Carry the flyer on visits, connect the owner to the college's workforce office, help with the form, and count the training dollars brought into town.

Sources

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