Services for Individuals
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) offers various types of services for Adults and Dislocated Workers, including: Basic Career Services, Individualized Career Services, and Training Services, connecting talent with opportunity.
Basic Career Services
- Determination of whether the individual is eligible to receive assistance from the adult, dislocated worker, or youth programs;
- Outreach, intake, and orientation to information and other services available through the one-stop system;
- Initial assessment of skill levels, including literacy, numeracy, and English language proficiency, as well as aptitudes, abilities (including skills gaps), and supportive service needs;
- Labor exchange services;
- Provision of referrals to and coordination of activities with other programs and services;
- Provision of workforce and labor market employment statistics information, including information relating to local, regional, and national labor market areas;
- Provision of performance information and program cost information on eligible providers of training services by program and provider type;
- Provision of information on the availability of support services or assistance, and appropriate referrals to those services and assistance;
- Provision of information and assistance regarding filing claims for unemployment compensation, by which the LWDA must provide assistance to individuals seeking such assistance; and
- Assistance in establishing eligibility for programs of financial aid assistance for training and education programs not provided under WIOA, including HOPE Scholarship and PELL grant.
Individualized Career Services
Individualized Career Services: This level of service delivery is provided when a person is declared eligible.
- Comprehensive and specialized assessments of the skill levels and service needs of adults and dislocated workers;
- Development of an individual employment plan to identify the employment goals, appropriate achievement objectives, and appropriate combination of services;
- Career planning;
- Short term pre-vocational services, such as the development of learning skills, communication skills, interview skills, punctuality, personal maintenance skills, professional skills;
- Internships and work experiences that are linked to careers;
- Workforce preparation activities;
- Financial literacy services;
- Out-of-area job search and relocation assistance; and
- English language acquisition and integrated education and training programs.
Training Services
Training Services: These services are provided to equip individuals to enter the workforce and retain employment. This level of service delivery requires an eligibility determination; and WIOA funding for training is limited to participants who are unable to obtain grant assistance from other sources to pay training costs, or who require assistance beyond that available under other grant assistance. In order to enter training services, WIOA-eligible individuals must also be:
- Unlikely or unable to obtain or retain employment that leads to economic self-sufficiency or wages comparable to or higher than wages from previous employment through career services;
- In need of training services to obtain or retain employment leading to economic self-sufficiency or wages comparable to or higher than wages from previous employment; AND,
- Have the skills and qualification to participate successfully in training services.
The types of services offered as training include:
- Occupational skills training, or Individual Training Accounts (ITA) established on behalf of a participant are used to purchase training services from eligible providers;
- On-the-job training (OJT) is provided by an employer to a paid participant while engaged in productive work to ensure the participant obtains knowledge and skills for adequate performance on the job;
- Incumbent Worker Training (IWT) is provided to improve the skills of employees and the competitiveness of an employer, and is intended to upskill existing employees or avert a potential layoff;
- Workplace training and cooperative education programs;
- Private sector training programs;
- Skills upgrading and retraining;
- Entrepreneurial training;
- Apprenticeships;
- Transitional jobs are time-limited, wage-paid work experiences for individuals with barriers to employment who are chronically unemployed or who have an inconsistent work history;
- Job readiness training provided in combination with other training described above;
- Adult education and literacy activities, including activities of English language acquisition and integrated education and training programs, in combination with training; and
- Customized training
Youth Services
Youth services under WIOA are provided under two eligibility categories, In-School and Out-of-School Youth. In each Local Workforce Development Area, all of the following elements are available to youth participants:
- Tutoring, Study Skills Training, Instruction and Evidence-based Dropout Prevention and Recovery
- Leads to the completion of the requirements for a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent
- Includes services and activities that keep a young person in-school and engaged in a formal learning and/or training setting
- Alternative Secondary School Services or Dropout Recovery Services:
- Includes basic education skills training, individualized academic instruction, and English as a Second Language training.
- Includes credit recovery, counseling, and educational plan development.
- Paid and Unpaid Work Experiences
- Provides opportunities for career exploration and skill development
- Occupational Skills (only for youth ages 18-24)
- Provides specific vocational skills that lead to proficiency in performing actual tasks and technical functions required by certain occupational fields.
- Education offered concurrently with workforce preparation and training for a specific occupation
- Refers to concurrent delivery of services included in other program elements, which make up an integrated education and training model.
- Leadership Development
- Includes opportunities that encourage responsibility, confidence, employability, self-determination, and other positive social behaviors, such as exposure to post-secondary educational opportunities, community and service-learning projects, peer mentoring and tutoring, organizational and teamwork training, civic engagement activities, etc.
- Supportive Services
- Provides services and assistance that allow the individual to participate in WIOA services, such as assistance with transportation, childcare, educational testing, uniforms and supplies, etc.
- Adult Mentoring
- Provides a formal relationship between a youth participant and an adult mentor that includes structured activities when the mentor offers guidance, support, and encouragement to develop the competence and character of the mentee.
- Comprehensive Guidance and Counseling
- Includes drug and alcohol abuse counseling, mental health counseling, and referrals to other partner programs, as appropriate.
- Financial Literacy Education
- Engages youth to enhance financial capability and understanding
- Entrepreneurial Skills Training
- Provides the basics of starting and operating a small business.
- Labor Marker and Employment Information
- Provides information about in-demand industry sectors or occupations available in the local area, such as career awareness, career counseling, and career exploration services.
- Activities that Prepare for Transition to Postsecondary Education and Training
- Includes exploring postsecondary education options, assisting with college entrance exam testing, college admissions applications, searching and applying for scholarships and grants, etc.
- GED Services