Department of Labor Announces Availability of On-the-Job Training Grants

On April 12, the Department of Labor announced the availability of up to $90 million for On-the-Job Training (OJT) National Emergency Grants (NEGs), funded with resources made available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Under this opportunity, eligible applicants will be awarded grants to work with state and local workforce investment boards, community-based organizations and employers in helping dislocated workers acquire job skills and experiences that will improve their chances of securing permanent employment.

Funding will be made available to states to provide workers the opportunity to return to the workplace and earn wages to support themselves and their families while adding new skills or learning new technologies, production or service.

Role of Employers:

• Employers enter into a contract to provide a job and the training necessary to perform the job
• Employers provide information regarding the OJT placement and disposition
• Employers must provide a safe and constructive work environment
• Employers must give successful OJT participants high priority for future employment at the end of OJT contract

The term “OJT'' means training that is provided to a paid participant while engaged in productive work in a job that:

• Provides knowledge or skills essential to the full and adequate performance of the job;
  • Provides reimbursement to the employer for up to 90 percent of the wage rate, depending upon employer size and/or participant skill level, for extraordinary costs of providing the training and additional supervision related to the training;
  • May not exceed six months and is limited in duration as appropriate to the occupation for which the participant is being trained.

The due date for proposals is May 24. A list of state administrators can be found here.

Additional details on the opportunity can be found here.