WFC OJT Policy Manual Page 4 of 55
Revised June, 2016
I. INTRODUCTION
WorkForce Central (WFC) administers a comprehensive employment and training program that utilizes
various employment and training activities authorized under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
(WIOA) to systematically develop the employability of eligible youth, dislocated workers and adults and, when
appropriate, to place them into jobs. On-the-Job Training (OJT), when properly implemented, serves this
purpose very effectively because a Trainee is hired into a job, or their current job is upgraded, while being
trained in the new job’s requisite skills.
While the WIOA law contains a number of provisions that broadly define OJT and prohibit various practices,
many of the parameters of this activity have been left to local definition. This manual consolidates the policies
and procedures that are to be used by WFC staff and service providers and provides guidance in the
development, negotiation, implementation, and monitoring of OJT Contract packages.
II. THE FUNDAMENTALS OF OJTS
A. On-the-Job Training (OJT)
OJT is a strategic employment service that supports the business community in their hiring process by adding
staff capacity, productivity and training at reduced costs to the Employer and is an excellent vehicle for eligible
Job Seekers to build their skills and re-establish their employment status. OJT benefits Employers by reducing
the cost of training new employees, the Employer designs the on-site training, training is aligned with the
skills required for the job and is a long term investment in the company. OJT benefits the Job Seeker by
providing an opportunity to “earn as they learn” in a hands-on environment, acquire job and career
advancement skills, and provides an opportunity for long-term employment.
The basic purpose of an OJT is to encourage public, private non-profit or private Employers to hire an
individual, or upgrade an eligible employed worker, who would not otherwise qualify for the job and to teach
the skills requisite to perform at the job. The OJT Service Provider provides the Employer with a partial wage
reimbursement for an agreed-upon training time period in exchange for the provision of training by the
Employer and a commitment to retain the individual when the training is successfully completed.
OJT is a hire-first program. The Trainee is a full-time, regular employee of the company that has agreed to
provide the training. WFC defines full-time, regular employee to equal no less than 35 hours per week.
OJT training payments to Employers are deemed to be compensation to the Employer for the extraordinary
costs associated with training participants and the costs associated with the lower productivity of the
participants during the training period. Employers are not required to document such extraordinary costs
[proposed rule at 20 CFR 680.720(c)]. Per WFC policy, Employers may be reimbursed up to 50 percent, 65
percent or 75 percent of the wage rate of an OJT participant for the costs of providing the training and
additional supervision related to the OJT. Subject to funding availability and the OJT Trainee’s needs,
WorkForce Central limits the cost of OJTs to $5,000 for jobs paying entry level wages and $6,000 for higher
wage jobs and the training duration to not less than four weeks and not more than 26 weeks. Training
duration must be in line with Specific Vocational Preparation (SVP) estimates (Refer to section
VI. C.
Determining Training Duration-Specific Vocational Preparation).
Subsidized employment programs such as Work Experiences, paid internships or other limited duration
placements for qualified participants are different from OJT primarily because they do not require the
participant to be an employee of the company participating in the activity. Nor do the activities require the
Employer to continue to employ the participant at the conclusion of the subsidized training activity.