On-the-Job-Training (OJT) is an allowable and fundable activity under the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). Program participants will be enrolled in the WIOA funded program, assessed for skills, and hired as regular, full-time employees by local employers and trained for positions in which they are placed. Employers will be responsible for payroll, associated taxes, and workers compensation for each OJT program participant as outlined in a Master Worksite Agreement. Through the Master Worksite Agreement/OJT contract, occupational training is provided for participants in exchange for reimbursement ranging from up to 50% to 75% of the wage rate to offset the employer's training costs for a specific period of time. In addition to a training plan of the skills to be learned, the OJT contract sets forth the duration of the contract (based on the participant's training needs) and the reimbursement rate (based on the participant's characteristics or barriers to employment).
Positive features and intent of the OJT Program are:
1) The OJT Program assists employers to recruit, pre-screen, hire, and train new employees in the specific skills to help businesses thrive, and,
2) The participant starts as a permanent employee, receiving training in a work setting while gaining knowledge of the job and acquiring occupational skills.
Reimbursement invoices/demands are submitted for each client employed through the OJT Program. Invoices are reviewed by the Workforce Development Board staff for accuracy and submitted to the Employment and Human Services Department Fiscal Unit for payment.
Without approval, local employers and WIOA job-training participants would be adversely impacted and economic benefits of the OJT Program would not be realized.