1. The Three-Tier Service Delivery System For Adults & Dislocated Workers
TRAINING SERIES
The Three-Tier Service Delivery System For Adults & Dislocated Workers
Welcome to the Department of Economic Opportunity’s WIA Training Series, a series developed to help make Workforce Investment guidance, policies, and rulings easier to understand and implement.
The WIA program is set up to help individuals obtain long-term skilled employment that provides adequate wages.
It also assists employers in finding the skilled workers they need to compete and succeed in business.
This training module reviews the three-tiered delivery system to provide services to eligible adults and dislocated workers.
WIA
Workforce Investment Act

2. Three-Tier System Overview
Core Services
Intensive Services
Training Services
The 3-tier system allows clients to progress from initial self-discovery to assisted exploration, with more extensive levels of services provided to clients who need more assistance.
The ultimate goal of this system is to increase employment, retention, and earnings of participants.
The three tiers are:
Core Services.
Intensive Services.
Training Services.
WIA

3. Core Services
Entry-level services that may be assisted or unassisted. Examples:
Information about labor market & demand occupations
Information about training providers & programs
Information about WIA and other resources in area
Skills assessment
Job readiness workshops
Job search assistance
Resume & interviewing assistance
Testing & background checks required by employer
Mentoring & networking
The first level of services, Core Services, are generally low-cost assisted or unassisted self-exploration activities.
Examples of core services include:
information about the labor market and occupations in demand;
information about training institutions, WIA programs, and social services agencies that may assist the client meet present needs;
employability skills assessment;
job readiness workshops;
job search assistance;
resume and interviewing assistance;
pre-screening for job openings, such as testing or background checks
mentoring & networking.
WIA

4. Intensive Services
Intensive services provide a more focused and comprehensive inquiry into a client’s status, goals, and needs.
Eligibility for intensive services:
Individual must have received at least one core service, and
Individual must be determined to be in in need of intensive services to obtain or retain employment that leads to self-sufficiency
To be eligible for intensive services, an individual must have received at least one core service and have been determined to be in need of intensive services to be able to attain self-sufficiency.
WIA

5. Intensive Services
When WIA Adult funds are limited, local boards are required to give priority to low-income individuals and those who receive public assistance. A local board may set the criteria for priority of service for adults in its area.
When WIA Adult funds are limited, local boards are required to give priority to low-income individuals and those who receive public assistance.
A local board may set the criteria for priority of service for adults in its area.
Priority of services is discussed in more detail in the Adult and Dislocated Worker Eligibility presentation.
WIA

6. Intensive Services Examples of Intensive Services:
Comprehensive Assessment
Development of an Individualized Employment Plan/Career Plan
Counseling
Short-Term Prevocational Services
Stand-Alone Adult Education & Literacy
Case Management
Work-Based Services (work experience or internship)
Intensive Services may include:
Comprehensive Assessment.
Development of an Individualized Employment Plan or Career Plan.
Counseling (individual or group).
Short-Term Prevocational Services, for example general office computer skills.
Stand-Alone Adult Education & Literacy.
Case Management.
Work-Based Services (work experience or internship).
WIA

7. Training Services
Eligible adults and dislocated workers who do not obtain employment through intensive services may be referred to training.
Eligibility criteria for training services:
Individual meets the eligibility requirements for intensive services
Individual is unable to obtain or retain employment through intensive services
To be eligible for training, a client must meet the eligibility requirements for intensive services and must be determined to be unable to obtain or retain employment through intensive services.
WIA

8. Training Services Considerations for the appropriateness of training:
Client assessed as needing the training
Client assessed as having skills, qualifications, and/or resources needed to succeed in training
Client selects training that is directly linked to employment opportunities in area or in another area in which the client is willing to relocate
Case managers should evaluate the appropriateness of training based on several factors:
Does the client need the training?
Does the client have adequate skills, qualifications and/or resources to succeed in training?
Some regions set minimum reading and math scores as a requirement for admission into training.
Training institutions also have entry requirements that a client must meet.
All WIA training for adults and dislocated workers must be for occupations that are directly linked to employment opportunities in the area or in another area if the client is willing to relocate.
WIA

9. Training Activities Common training activities:
Occupational Skills Training (OST)
On-the-Job Training (OJT)
Customized Training
The most common activities used for training WIA clients are:
Occupational Skills Training: postsecondary classroom-based training that teaches the skills necessary for a specific occupation.
On-the-Job Training, also known as OJT. OJT is paid training provided by an employer to a participant who is engaged in productive work in a job.
Customized Training which is designed to meet the special requirements of an employer or group of employers.
OJT and Customized Training are addressed in a separate Work-Based Training presentation.
WIA

10. Training Activities Other training activities:
Entrepreneurial Training
Skill Upgrading and Retraining
Programs Combining Workplace Training with Related Instruction
Training Programs Operated by Private Sector
Adult Education & Literacy in combination with Other Training
Less common activities used for training WIA clients include:
Entrepreneurial Training.
Skill Upgrading and Retraining.
Programs that combine Workplace Training with Related Instruction. This may include Cooperative Education.
Training Programs operated by the private sector.
Adult Education and Literacy programs in combination with other allowable training.
As mentioned earlier in this presentation, stand-alone adult ed and literacy are considered intensive services, whereas when the adult ed is combined with another training activity, it is considered a training activity.
WIA

11. Occupational Skills Training
Occupational skills training (OST):
Offered in a post-secondary educational setting
Teaches skills necessary for specific occupation (e.g. carpentry, nursing, accounting)
Prepares clients for immediate employment upon completion of training (maybe after licensure)
The term Occupational Skills Training refers to postsecondary classroom-based training where a student learns the skills necessary for a specific occupation, such as carpentry, nursing, or accounting.
It prepares clients for immediate employment upon completion. Although, in some cases, a license may be required.
WIA

12. Occupational Skills Training
Results in a degree or certificate
May prepare for entry level as well as advanced level
Occupational Skills Training results in a degree or certificate.
It may be offered for entry-level positions as well as advanced levels.
A client may be enrolled in training for a certificate in plumbing or a post-graduate masters in business administration.
WIA

13. Occupational Skills Training
OST provided by:
Vocational/Technical Institutions
Community Colleges
Universities
Private Postsecondary Institutions
Occupational Skills Training can be provided by:
Vocational or Technical Institutions.
Community Colleges.
Universities.
Private Postsecondary Institutions.
WIA

14. Occupational Skills Training
Occupational skills training is not:
Apprenticeship (this is a separate WIA training activity)
General literacy classes (remedial English, ESL)
General subject postsecondary education (e.g., BA in English)
Personal development classes (e.g., yoga)
While an Apprenticeship teaches occupational skills and provides a certificate, that activity is not recorded as Occupational Skills Training for WIA purposes.
General literacy classes, general subject postsecondary education, and personal development classes are not classified as Occupational Skills Training.
WIA

15. Eligible Training Providers
WIA law requires that OST funded with local WIA funds must be provided by Eligible Training Providers. The State and local boards are responsible for maintaining an Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL)
Federal law requires that Occupational Skills Training be offered by Eligible Training Providers.
The State and local boards are responsible for maintaining the Eligible Training Provider List, also known as ETPL.
The ETPL will be addressed in detail in a separate PowerPoint.
WIA

16. Eligible Training Programs
Must be on Targeted Occupation Lists (TOL)
Training programs must also be approved and are included in the State ETPL.
A training program must train students in occupations that are listed on the Targeted Occupation Lists.
To remain on the ETPL, providers must report student data to the Florida Department of Education.
WIA

17. Individual Training Account (ITA)
An ITA acts like a voucher which a WIA participant may use to pay training expenses, such as tuition, fees, required books & supplies
WIA-funded Occupational Skills Training:
Customer choice
Generally offered through ITA
The ITA acts like a voucher which the WIA participant uses to help pay training expenses—tuition, fees, required books…
With the implementation of WIA, Congress directed that Adult and Dislocated Workers be provided customer choice.
The mechanism in place to support this customer choice is the Individual Training Account or ITA.
One-Stop Centers are to fund Occupational Skills Training through ITAs.
WIA

18. Individual Training Account (ITA)
WIA-funded Occupational Skills Training:
Coordinated with Pell Grants and other financial aid
RWB may impose a cap on funding of ITAs
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with training institution
Federal law recognizes that a client may receive federal financial aid, such as a Pell Grant. In such cases, WIA directs that training services shall be limited to individuals who are unable to obtain other grant assistance or who require assistance beyond the assistance that is available to them.
For WIA purposes, a local board may impose a limit on the amount of funds it will allow for training. This is sometimes referred to as a training cap.
Generally, a local board enters into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a local educational institution that describes invoicing and payment methods.
An MOU would also include information about coordination with the financial aid office.
WIA

19. Quality OST
Targets jobs that provide high earnings, strong employment growth, and opportunity for individual advancement
Provides students with pathways/ladders for further education opportunities
Develops and expands the use of technology
Allows transfer to other institution if necessary
Prepares students adequately for licensure, when required
Some characteristics of quality Occupational Skills Training:
It targets jobs that provide high earnings, strong employment growth, and opportunity for individual advancement.
It provides students with pathways, or ladders, for futher education opportunities.
It develops and/or expands the use of technology.
It allows transfer to other institutions, if necessary.
It prepares students for licensure when required.
WIA

20. Quality OST
Appropriate mix of academic education, occupational skills, and work-based learning
Well equipped to deal with special populations (e.g., students with disabilities)
Provides appropriate support services for students, especially those with barriers
Collects appropriate information about results and uses data to improve quality
It provides an adequate mix of academic education, occupational skills, and work-based learning.
It is well equipped to deal with special populations, for example students with disabilities.
It provides appropriate support services for students, especially those with barriers.
Support services could be remediation, counseling, job placement assistance, etc.
It collects adequate data about its students’ outcomes and uses these data to improve the quality of the program.
WIA

21. OST Non-ITA
In rare situations, a WIA client may be enrolled in OST Non-ITA:
Co-enrollment with another program that funds the student (e.g., TAA)
RWB enters into contract with Community Based Organization that specializes in services to special population with barriers
Statewide Grant authorizes provision of training through non-ITA
WIA allows Occupational Skills Training to be provided without the issuance of an ITA.
Such rare occurrences include:
A client who is co-enrolled in WIA but another program funds the student’s training.
The local board enters into a contract with a Community Based Organization that specializes in services to special populations with barriers.
For example, Easter Seal or Goodwill.
The local board is operating a program through a Statewide Grant that authorizes the training through a non-ITA contract or agreement with a training provider.
ITAs are discussed in more detail in a separate presentation.
WIA

22. Quiz 1
Occupational Skills Training must always be offered through an Individual Training Account.
True
False
False. There are limited situations where a client may be enrolled in OST Non-ITA.
WIA

23. Quiz 2
Match the following activities to the correct tier. C=Core, I=Intensive
Case Management
Work-Based Services (e.g., internship)
Individual Employability/Career Plan
Resume & Interviewing Assistance
Labor Market Information I C
WIA

24. Quiz 3
To qualify for training, an adult or dislocated worker must have received at least one core service and one intensive service.
True
False
True.
WIA

25. Questions or Additional Information
Isabelle Potts Government Operations Consultant II (850)
Corey McCaster Government Operations Consultant II (850)
If you have any questions or for additional information, please don’t hesitate to contact one of our WIA policy and technical assistance staff.
Thank you.
WIA