An individual shall not be deemed unavailable for
work or to have failed actively to seek work with respect to any week, because
he or she is enrolled in and is in regular attendance at a training course
approved for him or her by the Director (see Section 500C5 of the
Act).
a) The
following criteria must be satisfied in order for a training course to be
approved for an individual by the Director:
1) The training course shall relate to an
occupation or skill for which there are, or are expected to be in the immediate
future, reasonable work opportunities in the locality. This means that:
A) The training course must be vocational or
provide the individual with skills essential for the performance of work in a
specific occupation;
EXAMPLE: The Director shall not approve classes designed
solely to provide an individual with a high school equivalency diploma since
this would not enhance opportunities in a specific occupation. However, the
Director shall approve courses of study that include some purely academic
courses if that course work is secondary to the vocational aspects.
B) The course must be designed to
facilitate the individual's reemployment in a reasonably expeditious manner;
however, the Director shall not approve courses of study of more than one year
in duration;
C) The course must
focus on providing the individual with the competency necessary for securing
entry level employment in the selected occupation; and
EXAMPLE: The Director shall not approve training for the
purpose of allowing an individual to improve his marketability (i.e., a
bookkeeper who wishes to become an accountant). If there exists a reasonable
job market for bookkeepers in the individual's locality, the Director will not
approve training that enhances the claimant's already marketable skills.
D) The course must consist of at
least 12 hours per week of instruction from a competent and reliable training
agent. This minimum of 12 hours of instruction must include contact between the
student and the instructor. The contact could result from classroom training,
laboratory instruction or tutoring.
2) The training course must be offered by a
competent and reliable agency, educational institution or employing
unit.
3) Work opportunities for
which the individual is qualified by training and experience are limited or do
not exist in the individual's locality.
EXAMPLE: If the individual is a trained and certified nurse's
aide, the Director shall not approve training to become a registered nurse if
reasonable openings exist in the individual's locality for nurse's aides, even
if the individual is dissatisfied with her present occupation.
4) The individual has the
qualifications and aptitude to complete the course successfully.
5) The enrollee is not a recipient nor
eligible for subsistence payments or similar assistance under any public or
private retraining program.
b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), a training
course is approved for an individual by the Director for the purposes of
Section 500C of the Act if:
1) both the
training course and the individual's participation in the training course are
approved under Title I of the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
(29 USC
3101 et seq.) by a One Stop Delivery System
(see
20 CFR
662.100);
2) the course is part of a program authorized
pursuant to the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act or other federal
legislation establishing an employment and training program;
3) the criteria on the basis of which a One
Stop Delivery System approves the course under Title I of the Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act include criteria consistent with Section
500C5(a)(2) and (3) of the Act;
4)
the criteria on the basis of which a One Stop Delivery System approves an
individual's participation under Title I of the Workforce Investment Act in the
course include criteria consistent with Section 500C5(a)(1) and (2) of the Act;
and
5) the course is not
disapproved by reason of Section 500C5(a)(5) of the Act.
