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Michigan Industry-Driven Skills Training Program (MIDSTP)

Worker in a lift welding a large blue metal ship hull, with bright sparks visible and industrial structures in the background.

Michigan Industry-Driven Skills Training Program (MIDSTP)

Request for Proposals: MIDSTP — Maritime Equipment and Instructor Expansion

The Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Opportunity (LEO) is offering up to $750,000 to community colleges to expand Michigan’s maritime and shipbuilding workforce training capacity through the Michigan Industry‑Driven Skills Training Program (MIDSTP). Funding will support training equipment, instructor development, and modernization of lab spaces to prepare workers for high‑demand maritime and advanced manufacturing careers that align with national defense needs and lead to industry recognized credentials. This RFP advances the Michigan Maritime Manufacturing (M3) initiative and strengthens Michigan’s ability to meet growing workforce demands by supporting employer‑driven training, Registered Apprenticeships, and work‑based learning models across the state.


Learn more about the RFP

About MIDSTP

The Michigan Industry-Driven Skills Training Program (MIDSTP) is a federally funded and state-supported initiative designed to strengthen the maritime manufacturing and shipbuilding workforce in Michigan. Through MIDSTP, the state is investing in training programs that prepare workers for high-demand roles in shipbuilding, marine systems and advanced manufacturing.

Front view of a large ship hull in dry dock, surrounded by metal scaffolding for construction or maintenance. The hull is painted black and red, with an industrial shipyard building and crane visible in the background.

Michigan Maritime Employer-Led Collaborative

MIDSTP is built around an Employer-Led Collaborative (ELC), a model in which employers work together to identify shared workforce needs and shape effective, industry-driven training strategies. The Michigan Maritime ELC is specifically focused on shipbuilding and maritime-related industries, including suppliers, recreational boating, and manufacturers.

Employer eligibility

Employers eligible to participate and receive training cost reimbursement from MIDSTP must meet the following criteria:

  • Must be a Michigan-based employer in Shipbuilding and Maritime Manufacturing, recreational boating, and/or advanced manufacturing for parts used in shipbuilding and the maritime industry
  • Become an active member of the Michigan Maritime Employer-Led Collaborative
  • Commit to recruit and train new hires and/or upskill current employees
  • Participate in the identification of employee training needs
  • Collaborate with other ELC employers to develop a training strategy to meet the employee training needs, identify how the training will be provided (e.g., in-house training, third-party training provider, or a combination), and identify the total training cost
  • Agree to report training and employment outcomes to the Michigan Works! Agency (MWA) and LEO’s Office of Employment & Training (LEO-E&T) for the purposes of reimbursement and grant reporting requirements; provide necessary data to the state to calculate employment outcomes

Role of participating employers

In addition to meeting eligibility requirements listed above, participating employers are also responsible for:

  • Assessing critical industry workforce development needs
  • Determining necessary skills and industry recognized postsecondary credentials
  • Identifying the appropriate training and working with LEO-E&T to develop it
  • Providing training or partnering with a training provider to do so, as applicable
  • Recruiting employees and new hires and assessing eligibility to participate in training that leads to skill gains and career advancement.

High-quality training to support workers and employers

Worker wearing a red hard hat, face shield, gloves, and protective clothing grinds a weld seam on a large curved steel surface, sending sparks downward.

All training supported through MIDSTP must result in an industry‑recognized postsecondary credential.

This requirement ensures every participant — whether a newly hired worker or an incumbent employee — leaves training with a portable, validated credential that supports long-term employment in the maritime and shipbuilding sector.

Period of performance

The program’s period of performance is March 1, 2026 – June 30, 2029. All training must conclude by December 31, 2028, to meet the period of performance end date.

Michigan Industry-Driven Skills Training Program (MIDSTP)

Program Summary

  • Focus: Maritime Manufacturing & Shipbuilding
  • Funding: Federal grant from the U.S. Department of Labor
  • Employer Support: Active Michigan Maritime Employer-Led Collaborative (ELC) members may receive refundable reimbursement of 80% of eligible training costs, up to $10,000 per trainee, and up to $200,000 per employer.
  • Trainee Eligibility: All trainees must be either newly hired or incumbent workers with participating Michigan Maritime ELC employers.
  • Program Contact: LEO Sector Strategies — LEO-SectorStrategies@michigan.gov

MIDSTP FAQs

    • Delivers training aligned to maritime and shipbuilding job roles.
    • Uses an ELC model to target real skills gaps and create new training programs.
    • Focus on job-ready skills.
    • Addresses urgent talent needs in the maritime industry.
    • Upskills and trains newly hired workers and incumbent workers.
    • Strengthens Michigan’s Great Lakes maritime economy and supply chains.
  • Newly hired workers and incumbent workers employed by participating maritime employers.
    • 80% refundable reimbursement of eligible training costs; up to $10,000 per trainee; up to $200,000 per employer in the collaborative.
    • Industry control over curriculum and outcomes; faster pipeline of shipyard‑ready talent.
Worker wearing a respirator, safety goggles, and gloves applies a piece of fiberglass mesh onto a curved surface in a workshop.
Worker wearing a respirator, safety goggles, and gloves applies a piece of fiberglass mesh onto a curved surface in a workshop.

Get started today!

Contact LEO Sector Strategies to learn more and/or join the Michigan Maritime collaborative.

Email the LEO Sector Strategies team