The
Workforce Investment Act (WIA) is a federally funded training and job program
that creates a new approach providing workforce investment activities through
statewide and local systems. Authorized workforce investment activities provided
at the local level benefit job seekers, dislocated workers, youth, foster care
participants, incumbent workers, new entrants to the workforce, veterans,
persons with disabilities, and employers. These activities promote an increase
in employment, job retention, earnings, and occupational skill attainment by
participants. This improves the quality of the workforce, reduces welfare
dependency, and enhances the productivity and competitiveness of the nation.
How can I
particiapte and offer my courses to benefit job seekers,
dislocated workers, youth?
You must
apply to become an Eligible Training Provider.
How do I become
an Eligible Training Provider?
You have to apply to a One-Stop Center in your local area so that
your school will be placed on the the Eligible Training Provider List?
What is the
Eligible Training Provider List?
The Eligible Training Provider List
was established in compliance with the
Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998. The purpose of the
ETPL is to provide customer-focused
employment training for adults and dislocated workers. Training providers who
are eligible to receive Individual Training Accounts (ITAs) through WIA Title
I-B funds are listed on the
ETPL.
Why should I be
on the Eligible Training Provider List?
The Eligible Training Provider List is the comprehensive list of
those schools and programs authorized to receive public monies. It enables the
professionals in the One-Stop Career System to assist customers in selecting
schools and programs that will be of benefit. If a Provider is not on the list,
there will be no referrals from the system. Being on the list permits local
One-Stop Workforce Investment System partners to issue Individual Training
Accounts to the approved provider program. Being on the list is also a
prerequisite for individual referral or class size contracts between the
provider and the One-Stop system.
If my program
does not get any funds from any government program, should I be on this list ?
Although your program may not receive any government monies at this
time, there is no guarantee that you may not want to receive monies in the
future. The system is available to everyone not just those seeking training with
public funds. If you are not on the list, someone seeking training will not find
you and may come to the conclusion that you are not state approved.
Which program
funding sources must use this list?
All training funded by any public funding source must be given by a
training provider approved for inclusion on the Eligible Training Provider List.
Must a school that offers training to adults and dislocated
workers be on the State Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL) before WIA
training dollars may be used to purchase that training?
Yes, the training provider must be on the ETPL before a participant
may use his/her WIA Title I-B training voucher or individual training account
funds. Before an school may receive WIA Title I-B funds to provide training to
adults and dislocated workers, the State must first determine that the school
has met the federal and State requirements to qualify as an eligible training
provider. As an eligible training provider, the school would be added to the
ETPL, thereby expanding customer choice for participants in need of training.
How and when do you start an Individual Training Account (ITA)?
The ITA may be established on behalf of WIA Title I adults and
dislocated workers. To be eligible for training and for an ITA, individuals must
first have met the requirements stated in Title 20 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR) Sections 663.310 and 663.320. The basic requirements in those
sections are (1) that the individual has received at least one intensive service
and has been determined unable to obtain or retain employment through intensive
services, and (2) the individual is unable to obtain needed training wholly
funded by other sources. Refer to the two aforementioned sections for the
complete scope of the requirements. As stated in Title 20 CFR Section 663.410,
the ITA must be used to purchase services from eligible training providers.
Payments may be made in a variety of ways, including electronic transfers of
funds through financial institutions, vouchers, purchase orders, debit cards,
checks, or other appropriate methods. As stated in Title 20 CFR Section 663.420,
Local Workforce Investment Boards (LWIB) may impose limits on ITAs, such as
limitations on the dollar amount and/or duration.
What is a One-Stop?
Through
the collaborative efforts of federal, state, county, local agencies, and
business One-Stop Centers were designed to meet the needs of the employer and
job seeker. These Centers are intended to provide a more coordinated,
customer-friendly, locally driven workforce development system. Most of the
services and resources are free due to federal funding; however, some services
could be offered on a fee basis.The One-Stop planning and development process
was initiated in November 1994 with funding from the U.S. Department of Labor
due to the following reasons:
The
average employee will change jobs six times during their lifetime. This has led
to a national need to focus on employability since workers are no longer staying
in their jobs with one company for their lifetime. Workers are required to take
on a greater variety of tasks with the advent of more businesses becoming "high
performance" workplaces. This leads to their need for improved basic skills and
literacy, English language, computational, work readiness, and flexibility
training. Since we are in an era of high-tech, global, and increasing
competitiveness, jobs are increasingly requiring rapidly changing skill sets
leading to life-long learning for all workers.
The
Workforce Investment Act (WIA) legislation of 1998 further defines the vision of
the One-Stop Centers to provide the following:
Universal Services - To offer employer, job seeker, and
education/training seekers a wide array of useful information, as
well as widespread and easy access to needed services.
Integrated Systems - To provide as many job seeking and employment retention
skills, education, or occupational skill training services as possible for
unified customer service.
Customer Choice - To consider the needs and interests of customers in all
aspects of service delivery and support informed choices by providing a
means for customers to judge quality of services.
Performance Driven/Outcome Based - To meet and exceed clearly identified and
measurable outcomes.
What is ETP?
The
Employment Training Panel (ETP) (Not to be confused with an
Eligible Training Provider)is a
business and labor supported state agency that assists employers in
strengthening their competitive edge by providing funds to off-set the costs of
job skills training necessary to maintain high-performance workplaces. The ETP
program is performance-based, providing funds for trainees who successfully
complete training and are retained in well-paying jobs for a specific period of
time.
The
program is funded by the Employment Training Tax paid by California employers,
and targets firms threatened by out-of-state and international competition.
Since its inception in 1983, the ETP program has provided over $1 billion to
train more than 660,000 workers in over 60,000 California companies. Employers
match training funds awarded by ETP for training existing
workers, making these projects true public-private partnerships.
ETP
also funds training for unemployed workers.
ETP
prioritizes small businesses and employers in high unemployment areas of the
State.
The
Small Business Program serves single employers with 100 or fewer full time
employees who need to train employees for 8 to 60 hours and whose total ETP
funding will not exceed $50,000.
A new
Fast Track contracting process is available for single employer contracts of
$50,000 or less. The streamlined process includes a simplified contracting
document, and is available for small or large employers who will provide a
minimum of 24 hours of training per trainee.
Single Employers
interested in the development of an Agreement under either the Small Business
Program or the Fast Track Process are to contact the Economic Development Unit
at (916) 327-5262 or the nearest ETP Regional Office for more information.
Multiple Employer Contractors
serve the training needs of more than one ETP-eligible employer. MEC must meet
the eligibility criteria of one of the following contractor categories: a Group
of Employers, Public or Private Training Agency, Workforce Investment Board or a
Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Grant Recipient or WIA Grant Administrative
Entity.
An
employer and proposing to train only their own employees using ETP funds, are
considered a Single Employer and must meet the Single Employer eligibility
criteria. The MEC-specific policies do not apply to their eligibility or the
development of their ETP Agreement.
What is an ETP Agreement?
An ETP
Agreement is not a grant; it is a performance-based contract.
Contractors are reimbursed only for those trainees who successfully complete all
of the training outlined in the ETP Agreement and a ninety-day post training
employment retention period in the job they are trained for.
Employers must contribute to the cost of an ETP-funded training program: from 50
to 100 percent of the ETP funding amount. Monetary and non-monetary
contributions are commonly comprised of wages paid to trainees during ETP funded
training, course materials, classroom or facilities rental, and other training
related costs not directly reimbursed by ETP.
ETP-funded
training may be provided by any one or more of the following:
üan internal
trainer, such as a company trainee employee
üa training
agency, such as community colleges and universities
ü
California-based professional trainers
üAny
external provider of training under an ETP Agreement must have an agreement
with the primary contract holder to provide training within an ETP-funded
Agreement.
üTraining
providers should be California based, unless the training is so unique that
a training provider cannot be found in California.
