Hire Education Loan Program (HELP)
The Hire Education Loan Program (HELP), which is a Minnesota Job Skills Partnership (MJSP) Program activity, was established to assist Minnesota businesses in obtaining the training they need for new or existing employees by providing short-term, no-interest loans directly to business. Loans are awarded to businesses that contract with outside accredited public or private training institutions for needed training.
Loan eligibility is determined according to training needs, availability of other funding sources, economic viability of the firm, and quality of the jobs for which training is provided. Priority is given to loans that provide training for jobs that are permanent, provide health care coverage and other fringe benefits, and have a career or job path with prospects for wage increases. Loans may be for up to $250,000 and there may be a loan origination fee of up to two percent. Wage subsidy, non-training costs, or operating or capital costs are not eligible costs. A loan may possibly be packaged with a grant. Loans may be secured or unsecured, for a term of no more than five years, and bear no interest. An employer may have only one outstanding loan. The loan will contain other such standard commercial loan terms as appropriate.
The MJSP Board awards the loans. Normally, several grant/loan rounds are held each year. Grant/loan application deadlines are posted on the MJSP Board web page and are also published in Minnesota's State Register.
For more information, see:
- Application Deadlines - listed on the MJSP Board Calendar of Events and the State Register
- Fact Sheet [PDF] - a one-page marketing piece about HELP
- Or contact the Job Skills Programs Office