Vocational Skills Training SR 00-16, 03/00 (FAM-A)

Vocational skills training means instruction conducted at an institutional or worksite setting to provide or upgrade the technical skills required to perform a specific job or group of jobs by an individual, including:

• job specific competency training;

• job specific school-to-work programs;

• on-site industry-specific training;

• customized training;

• entrepreneurial training;

• cooperative education; or

• professional and vocational education.

Participant Referral Criteria

The NHEP team member must consider the following specific referral criteria in addition to the general referral criteria in Section 808.25 in order to refer to the vocational skills training activity:

• the participant’s marketability based on current skills, experience and education;

• the participant’s ability to achieve self-sufficiency without a vocational skills training program;

• the specific vocational skills training program’s direct marketability to the local labor market;

• the participant’s ability to successfully complete a vocational skills training program; and

• the participant’s ability to make use of support services, such as transportation and child care, while engaged in vocational skills training.

An AWEP participant who has a job or OJT offer conditional on participating in vocational skills training may be referred to the training prior to or after the completion of the AWEP.

Activity Requirement

Vocational skills training programs must meet all of the following criteria:

• the classroom training must be designed for vocationally specific skill;

• the vocationally specific training must be in an occupation which is consistent with the participant’s employability plan;

• the training must be industry specific; and

• the training program must have a reasonable expectation to result in an individual obtaining employment.

Determining Hours of Participation in Vocational Skills Training

To determine if the vocational skills training, either new or approved self-initiated, meets the participation requirement, determine whether or not the vocational skills training program is based upon academic credits.

• If the vocational skills training program is based on academic credits, apply either of the methods below, at client option:

- multiply the total number of academic credit hours by 2 to obtain the number of participation hours that are counted toward the participation requirement; or

- multiply the total number of hours required weekly in a structured academic setting, including classroom hours, to obtain the number of participation hours that are counted toward the participation requirement.

• If the vocational skills training program is not based on academic credits, count the actual hours of on-site participation in the vocational skills training program to determine the number of hours counted toward the participation requirement.

If the individual is not meeting minimum participation requirements in the vocational skills training activity, enroll the individual in an additional NHEP activity.

If the individual is meeting minimum participation requirements, an additional NHEP activity may be required to a maximum of 40 hours per week as specified on the EP. The hours of participation, between the minimum and maximum, should be based on what is necessary for the participant to achieve self-sufficiency, and not on the minimum hours set by federal law. When appropriate to support employment goals and self-sufficiency, other activities may be combined with the vocational skills activity.

Participant Requirement

When determining the need for additional vocational skills training programs for individuals with a previous certificate, diploma, degree, or previous vocational skills training, the NHEP team member shall consider the following:

• significant labor market changes effecting the occupation in which education or training has been previously received;

• the person no longer possesses the needed abilities to perform the job functions of the educational or training program received due to a documented disability; or

• that the nhep participant’s previous educational or training program may have been interrupted due to a major personal emergency, which caused the participant to drop out, and is now resolved.

Time Limits

The vocational skills training program must be completed within the following time limits:

• no more than 2 years of continuous study, as defined by the institution; or

• when attendance is less than full time, as defined by the training facility or institution, no more than one and a half times the normal period of time customary for completing the program, not to exceed 3 years.

Exception: The time limit specified above for vocational skills programs does not apply to individuals with a documented learning disability verified by a state certified educational professional or licensed psychologist. For extension of participation time, the documentation must specify the need and length of time required.

Support Services

All of the following support services may be authorized for this activity:

• child care assistance;

• transportation assistance (payment to enrolled public/private carriers, mileage and auto repair reimbursement);

• tuition; and

• fees and supplies.