The $10.5 million to state provided to help people pay for job training and industry certifications ran out approximately six months ahead of schedule. Legislators added an additional $7.5 million worth of grants to the M.J. Foster Promise Program last week during a budget hearing. The initial $10.5 million for the program was supposed to last through June but ran out in December, according to budget documents. Named for former Gov. Mike Foster, the grants provide financial support for students looking to earn credentials in high-demand, skilled industries such as construction, health care and information technology. The money can be put toward programs at Louisiana’s community and technical colleges and a handful of other training programs the state Board of Regents has approved. Students can generally receive $3,200 per academic year or $1,600 per semester if they are enrolled full time. The award maxes out at $6,400 in total over three years. People who qualify must come from households earning less than 300% of the federal poverty level, which is $43,740 for a single person or $90,000 for a family of four. They also cannot have previously earned an undergraduate degree, and the students must also be at least 20 years old to qualify for the current academic year. The types of job training the grant covers include nursing degrees, masonry, roofing, plumbing, cloud computing and dozens of other options. The extra $7.5 million being used to fund the programs is unspent money from 2023, the first year the grants were awarded. Not as many people took advantage of the program that year because it was new and not well known at the time, officials said. Monty Sullivan, head of Louisiana’s Community and Technical College System, said he believed the surge in interest in the program is related to economic factors, such as the rising cost of groceries. People are seeking ways to make more money, he said. “The program is working. That’s the bottom line,” he said. The Louisiana Board of Regents has asked that state lawmakers double the funding available for M.J. Foster grants to $21 million for the next academic year.