2.1.3 On-the-Job Training
Louisiana Statewide Transition Project and Louisiana: Healthy and Ready to Work Fact Sheet Series
	11/16/99

I. WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

For most young adults, employment is one of the most important and most anticipated rites of passage following high school. Employment has been said to help determine a person's worth and place in society. It can help shape a person's identity and sense of well being (Parker & Szymanski, 1996). When young adults are planning for the transition to employment, it is important to consider the full range of employment support options available. One such support option is On-the-Job Training, or OJT.

Some young adults need more assistance and training than others in order to be trained for and placed in a job. OJT is one of many services available through Louisiana Rehabilitation Services (LRS) that can help prepare young adults to become competitively employed. When planning for the transition to employment, young adults and their transition teams should be aware that OJT is one service that Louisiana Rehabilitation Services may use in assisting young adults prepare for employment.

II. KEY POINTS

When a young adult has been determined eligible for services through LRS, that young adult and his/her LRS counselor will identify an employment goal. Next, the Louisiana Rehabilitation Services Counselor assists the young adult to identify the most appropriate LRS services to help meet the employment goal. OJT is one service that may be considered. It is not necessary for young adults to have a certain disability label for OJT to be considered and/or offered. OJT may be offered by LRS when:

· the young adult needs only a few months of training on the job;

· On-the-Job Training will provide the young adult with skills for gainful employment (as determined by LRS); and

· the employment goal is one that requires skills training that can be accomplished within the given time frame (LRS, 1999).

There is a maximum amount of time that Louisiana Rehabilitation Services will fund any OJT assignment based on the agency guidelines. The time frame approved will vary according to each young adult's needs and the requirements of the job. The LRS counselor will examine the strengths and needs of the young adult and make a determination as to how many weeks of OJT the young adult requires in order to learn the job. It is important to remember that the number of weeks of training funded by LRS will never exceed the maximum amount allowed. Also, it is equally important to note that this service can only be provided by LRS if an employer is located who is willing to train the young adult, based on the agency's guidelines.

For example, Roderick wants to work at a local shipbuilding plant. After vocationally assessing Roderick, his LRS counselor thinks that Roderick would be successful in a job that requires him to operate machinery. The LRS counselor knows that the local shipbuilding plant has an opening for a Rotor Casting-Machine Operator. The LRS counselor contacts the employer, who then agrees to provide Roderick with the OJT opportunity. Given Roderick's skills and his successful completion of a machine shop class in high school, the LRS counselor, the employer, and Roderick determine that he will only need two months, or eight weeks, of training. Therefore, when the LRS counselor and Roderick write his Individualized Plan for Employment (or IPE), they include this amount of time for OJT.

When being trained for a job using OJT services, the young adult is actually taught the job by the employer. Because young adults who need OJT typically require more time to be trained for a particular job than the typical employee, the employer's costs associated with this extended training time are minimized through subsidies (Everson, 1992). When LRS funds OJT, they will reimburse the employer for a portion of the wages paid to the young adult receiving OJT services. As with any other employee, the employer is required to carry worker's compensation insurance on the young adult and to make available to the young adult benefits offered to other employees. After the specified OJT period, the employer is expected to keep the employee as a regular and permanent employee and to pay a wage commensurate with the job being performed (LRS, 1999).

III. ROLES/NEXT STEPS

Students/Young Adults:

Young adults interested in employment should make this desire known when planning for the transition from school to employment. If young adults will need additional training time to learn a job, they should ask Local Education Agency (LEA) personnel or other members of their Individualized Education Program (IEP) team for assistance in applying for services through LRS. Applications for services through LRS are typically made in the final year of high school. Young adults can explore the possibility of OJT as a service with their LRS Counselor.

Young adults in OJT programs should exert their best effort when at the job site. They are expected to learn the job within the specified time frame and also to remain employed at that job site once the training is completed. If there are any concerns, or if changes are made in the employment status, young adults must report them to the LRS counselor.

Families:

Families should assist young adults in identifying employment support needs. When planning for the transition to employment, families should help young adults locate and access programs available through various agencies that can facilitate successful employment outcomes. If it is determined that the young adult requires OJT services, families should help advocate for those services through LRS.

Young adults who wish to become employed may need family support to be successful in this endeavor. Families may be called upon to help solve transportation or other barriers to employment.

Agencies:

By collaborating with Local Education Agencies (LEAs), LRS counselors can provide valuable information to teachers, families and young adults about the world of work. Participation in meetings during which transition to employment is discussed and/or on a local interagency transition team are excellent ways to ensure that young adults exiting LEAs and entering adult agencies come with skills needed to become employed. By making young adults, families, and LEAs aware of a program such as LRS, this agency can help assure them that needed services are identified and accessed in a timely manner, including OJT services, if applicable.

LRS counselors may also provide information to the employer about Louisiana Worker's Compensation Second Injury Fund. This fund reimburses employers or, if insured, their insurance carriers, for part of the worker's compensation costs in certain instances when an individual with a disability is injured on the job.

The employer must provide the LRS counselor with a step-by-step outline or schedule detailing expectations of the young adult while on the job. Time spent in each step will depend on the young adult's ability to progress. This information will be made part of the young adult's LRS case record.

The employer must pay the young adult's salary, part of which is reimbursed by LRS according to guidelines. The employer is also responsible for making any and all deductions from the young adult's paycheck as required by law. As with any other employee, the employer is required to carry Worker's Compensation Insurance on the young adult and make available any benefits offered to any other employee, as well as pay at least minimum wages. Finally, the employer must furnish the LRS counselor with a statement hours worked and a summary of job performance.

IV. RESOURCES/CONTACTS

Louisiana Rehabilitation Services*

925-4131 (in Baton Rouge) or 800-737-2958

(*contact this office to get the number of the regional office nearest you.)

The Employment Network of Louisiana, Inc.

Human Development Center, LSUHSC

1100 Florida Blvd., Building 119

New Orleans, LA 70119

1-800-597-0441

For more information on the Louisiana Worker's Compensation Second Injury Fund, call 225-342-7866.

V. REFERENCES

Everson, J. (Ed.) (1992). Glossary of supported employment terms and concepts. In Wehman, P., Sale, P., & Parent, W., Supported Employment: Strategies for Integration of Workers with Disabilities (p. 316), Boston, MA: Andover Publishers.

Louisiana Rehabilitation Services (LRS). (1999). Louisiana Rehabilitation Services Technical Assistance and Guidance Manual. (Section 400). Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana Rehabilitation Services.

Parker, R.M. & Syzmanski, E.M. (1992). Rehabilitation Counseling: Basics and Beyond. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed Publishing.