Grants Office April Insights: An Update on Workforce Training Grants in IT
An Update on Workforce Training Grants in IT
The demand for skilled IT professionals remains strong and is projected to persist for the foreseeable future. Advancing technology is a priority under the Trump administration. President Trump’s Cyber Strategy for America outlines the administration’s strategy towards proactive cybersecurity measures and the pursuit of the America’s technological dominance in the world. Training future workers in cyber skills to address the shortage in skilled workers is addressed in Pillar 6: Build Talent and Capacity, which aims to leverage vocational and technical schools, academia, corporations, and venture capital to train workers. To strive towards these goals, there many grant opportunities available to educational and vocational institutations, non-profits, governmental agencies, and employers to help train future workers in this sector.
Federal Funding Opportunities
Let’s explore some federally funded grants geared toward workforce development initiatives in Information Technology.
RAMPS: Cybersecurity Education and Workforce Development RAMPS focuses on strengthening the cybersecurity talent pipeline by:
Promoting awareness of cybersecurity career pathways
Building and sustaining a skilled workforce
Modernizing talent management to close skills gaps
Expanding the use of the NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework
Strong applicants will demonstrate partnerships with higher education or nonprofit training providers, along with at least one employer or critical infrastructure operator. This opportunity is currently open with a deadline of May 28, 2026.
Experiential Learning for Emerging and Novel Technologies (ExLENT)
The purpose of this program is to support experiential learning opportunities for individuals from diverse professional and educational backgrounds that will increase access to, and interest in, career pathways in emerging technology fields. The ExLENT program aims to connect companies, governments, agencies, schools, professional organizations, and/or non-profits in order to provide individuals the experiential STEM learning opportunities needed to accelerate the Nation’s innovation capacity. Future deadlines are to be determined.
State Funding Opportunities
In addition to federal funding opportunities, the Texas Workforce Commission offers grants to train future IT professionals including:
Advancing Skills, Capabilities, and Expertise for New Development (ASCEND) Grant
The ASCEND program is a reimbursement grant for employers for training in key industries including information technology, among others. Each grantee may receive up to $500,000 or a maximum reimbursement of $4,000 per trainee. Funds can be used for work-based learning programs, on-the-job training, apprenticeships, and classroom or virtual instruction. Applications for this program are accepted on an ongoing basis until funds have been expended.
Skills Development Fund
Administered by the Texas Workforce Commission, the Skills Development Fund supports customized training for Texas businesses in partnership with public community or technical colleges, the Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX), community-based organizations, or local workforce boards. This program is currently open with a deadline of May 7, 2026.
Texas Industry Partnership (TIP)
Also managed by the Texas Workforce Commission, TIP funds collaborations between industry and workforce boards to train workers for high-demand fields such as information technology. Applications are accepted continually but must be submitted by June 1st to be considered for the current fiscal year.
Bridging the skills gap to push forth the country’s technological future continues to be a funding priority. Whether through federal initiatives like the RAMPS and ExLENT programs or state-level resources such as grants from the Texas Workforce Commission, there are many opportunities for employers, educational institutions, non-profits, and governmental agencies to train the next generation of IT professionals.