When $59 million misses the training mark
Michigan's Auditor General just put a hard number on a soft promise. A September performance audit of the Going Pro Talent Fund found that about $59.5 million in awards reimbursed employers for new-employee on-the-job training that did not meet the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity's own rule that funded training lead to a transferable, industry-recognized credential.
That was roughly a third of Going Pro awards over the nearly three-year review window. Bridge Michigan reported the program spent about $182.5 million from 2022 through 2025, with an average award near $55,400. Auditors also concluded LEO failed to complete required file reviews of the Michigan Works! agencies that run these grants for nearly three years. Meanwhile, more than 2,200 applications totaling about $93 million went unfunded. Families in Allegan, Berrien, and Van Buren counties do not send money to Lansing so orientation can crowd out real upskilling.