TRAINING STRATEGIES
PRTEC RtW® grant training strategies incorporate work-based training models with earning components for long-term unemployed workers in one or more of the customized interventions for rapid reemployment and training strategies, such as on-the-job training (OJT), paid work experience, paid internships, other training strategies, or any combination of these strategies. To ensure that these programs meet the needs of long-term unemployed workers, all training strategies will:
- Target skills and competencies in demand in the applicant’s regional economy and reflect those industries and occupations for which employers are using H–1B visas to hire foreign workers
- Provide skills development for jobs currently available;
- Provide accelerated education and work-based training that is appropriate for and meets the needs of long-term unemployed workers and businesses in sectors that use H-1B visas;
- Integrate activities with services to ensure that participants have the necessary support to complete education/training and overcome barriers to employment, as appropriate;
- Provide job development and placement assistance; and,
- Result (for longer-term training) in an industry-recognized credential or enable advancement along a career pathway (for shorter term training).
- a. On-the-Job Training
- (OJT)
OJT can bridge the divide between unemployment and employment by addressing gaps in an individual’s skills and what is required for a particular occupation. Individuals who participated in OJT in the past have demonstrated improved labor market attachment and enhanced job tenure, as illustrated by higher rates of job placement and retention. OJT also offers participants a “learn and earn” training option, allowing individuals to learn new skills while earning a regular paycheck.
OJT is distinguished from other types of workplace training, including customized training, in several ways: (1) participants are hired (or employed) and earn wages from employers during training; (2) it is based on an individualized training plan that reflects the results of an individual skills assessment and analysis of job requirements; (3) training is conducted in the workplace under the direction of one or more of the employer’s supervisory personnel; and (4) PRTEC will pay the employer a reimbursement to cover the extraordinary costs of the training. This grant OJT has specific funding restrictions. One of these restrictions specifies that incumbent worker training does not qualify for OJT.
b. Paid Work Experience
Work experience is defined as a planned and structured learning experience that takes place in a workplace for a limited period of time. For the purposes of this grant, work experiences are required to be paid work experiences for long-term unemployed workers. Under this grant, paid work experience has specific funding restrictions. One of these restrictions specifies that incumbent worker training does not qualify for paid work experience.
c. Paid Internships
PRTEC’s Ready to Work (RtW)® Partnership Grant offers paid internship for long-term unemployed adults looking for full-time work.
Internships provide a monitored or supervised work or service experience in an individual’s career field where he or she has intentional learning goals and reflects actively on what is learned throughout the experience. These learning goals can include: academic learning, career development, and skill development. Internships are part of a structured program but may be flexible to allow interns to spend limited time in the classroom; support the attainment of credentials in the individual’s expected career field (where such credentials exist); relate to training provided through the grant and help participants prepare for employment opportunities on which the grant focuses; and, do not necessarily carry an offer of regular employment upon successful completion of the internship.
For the purposes of this grant internships are required to be paid internships for long-term unemployed workers. Under this grant, paid internships have specific funding restrictions. One of these restrictions specifies that incumbent worker training does not qualify for paid internships.
d. Other Training Strategies
In addition to providing work-based training models with an earnings component, projects may also incorporate other training strategies. Other types of training strategies include but are not limited to: classroom occupational training that is accelerated and contextualized for adult workers; distance learning and technology-based learning; and customized training, including incumbent worker training, for particular employers or groups of employers. PRTEC will serve incumbent workers and will to work with employer partners to develop plans to create career pathways vacancies in middle and high-skill jobs for incoming long-term unemployed workers by using incumbent worker training to move existing workers into higher-skill jobs in H-1B occupations and industries.