Grant Questions and Answers

Below are questions and answers about the Youth Skills Training (YST@DLI) grant.

Question: Can YST grant funding be used to pay student wages or buy incentives as payment for student work experiences? 
Answer: No, based on YST statute, grant funding cannot be used to pay or supplement student wages in any form for a paid work experience.

Question: The grant application indicates that there is a 6 page maximum of written narrative. Which questions 1-10 does this apply to? 
Answer: The 6 page maximum of written narrative applies to questions 1-8 (the narrative questions) on the grant application. The chart, budget form, addendum and application page does not count toward the 6 page maximum of written narrative.

Question: Are the YST grant funds reimbursed in equal payments on a quarterly basis? How should the proposed grant budget form be completed? 
Answer: No, the grant funds are reimbursed based on program spending during each quarter. There is no requirement to spend the money in equal amounts based on a quarterly or yearly basis. The proposed grant budget form should be completed using the total dollar amount requested over the two year grant period. 

Question: Can we use YST grant funding to pay employer partners a stipend for participating? 
Answer: No, YST grant funding cannot be used to pay employer partners for participating in the program. 

Question: Does our partnership need to receive a grant before applying for YST program approval?
Answer: No, you do not need to be a YST grant recipient to apply for YST program approval. The YST@DLI grant process and YST@DLI program approval are two independent components of the program. 

Question: Which industries are currently approved for YST grant funding and YST program approval?
Answer: YST@DLI has approved the following industries for both the grant process and program approval: advanced manufacturing, agriculture, automotive, information technology, and health care.

Question: Is there a minimum number of hours of paid work experience required for a Youth Skills Training (YST) program?
Answer: No, there is no minimum or maximum number of hours of paid work experience required for YST programs. 

Question: Do YST employer partners have to pay wages or can another program fund the wages through an eligibility based program?
Answer: YST employer partners need to be the employer of record which includes paying the wages and covering workers’ compensation insurance for student learners.  

Question: What are the expected outcomes based on Youth Skills Training (YST) statute? 
Answer: At least 80 percent of the student learners who participate in a YST program should receive a high school diploma; and at least 60 percent of the student learners who participate in a YST program should receive a recognized credential upon completion of the YST program.

Question: Why is construction NOT one of the industries included for the Youth Skills Training (YST) grant and YST program approval?
Answer: Minnesota Child Labor law does not allow for minors under 18 years of age on construction and building sites. Youth Skills Training programs include 16 and 17 year old students and requires paid work experience.

Question: Can grant money be used to purchase equipment and supplies for classrooms?
Answer: Yes, as long as the employer partners agree that the purchases are important to the program and a good use of the grant funds. The YST grant funding is designed to create and implement YST programs and is not designed to become an educational funding source. Equipment expenses that exceed $5,000 in total over the course of the grant and have an expected useful life of over two years are considered capital expenses and require approval prior to purchase.

Question: How many letters of intent were submitted for this round of Youth Skills Training (YST) grant funding? 
Answer: Thirty-two letters of intent were received for this round of grant funding.