Work Experience & Job Training

Work Experience & Job Training

If you enrolled in a higher learning institution, subsistence allowance rates are paid.Full time means taking at least 12 credit hours in a term, three-quarters time is defined as at least 9 credit hours in a term, and half time is taking at least 6 credit hours in a term.

Work-Experience Programs

The monthly rates are the same as the institutional rates if you enroll in a non-pay or nominal-pay work experience program in a federal, state, local or federally recognized Indian tribe agency. Public Law 102-477 allows federal, state, or local recognized Indian tribes to use federal grants to establish work-experience programs for members of their tribe. The veteran has to be entitled to Chapter 31 benefits and also be a member of the tribe. For work experience program entitlement, full-time means 40 hours per week, three-quarters time equals 30 hours per week and half-time is 20 hours per week.

Non-Pay on-the-Job Training Programs

The government pays a monthly subsistence allowance for full-time training only in the following training programs:

Nominal-pay or non-pay training in a federal, state, or local program or a federally recognized Indian tribe agency.

Training in the home: Distance learning courses and correspondence courses not part of accredited colleges or universities are included.

Vocational course in a rehabilitation facility or sheltered workshop: Many shelters and rehabilitation facilities provide vocational courses that can qualify you for a monthly subsistence allowance.

Institutional Nonfarm Cooperative

A co-op is a business that is controlled and owned equally by the people who work at it and use its services.

A work experience program gives job experience that you can use on a resume to increase your employ-ability. On the job training is a more formal, specific training that leads to full-time employment once training is complete.

Farm cooperatives and non farm cooperatives are the same, except they work in agriculture and livestock fields. These cooperatives receive tax breaks, so they are required to pay Chapter 31 veterans who train with them.

Other Types of Programs

Subsistence allowance is paid for non farm cooperative institutional training and non farm cooperative on-the-job training that is not operated by a recognized Indian tribe.

Participating in a VA Work-Study Program

In a work-study program, you work between enrollment periods of your vocational or educational training. You use the VA benefits to gain a skill then work with the VA to provide outreach services, prepare paperwork, or perform other activities. You earn an hourly wage, (similar to minimum wage), and as much as 40 percent of your total work-study allowance can be paid in advance. The total number of hours you can work cannot be more than 25 times the number of weeks in any enrollment period.

Using Benefits Beyond Education and Training

If the VA determines that you don’t need educational or vocational training to meet your employment objectives, you can receive other benefits.

Comprehensive rehabilitation evaluation to determine abilities, skills, interests, and needs: This includes interviews and tests to help you find what field you would like to enter and are best suited for.

Vocational counseling and rehabilitation planning: Counselors help you make a list of goals to lead to your job.

Employment services such as job-seeking skills, resume development, and other work readiness assistance: VA counselors help you look for a job and build your resume.

Assistance finding and keeping a job, including the use of special employer incentives: The VA helps locate employers who give job preference to veterans.

Supportive rehabilitation services, including case management, counseling, and referral: These services provide counseling, support from the VA and feedback.

Aid and Vocational Training

Independent Living Services

If you have a serious enough disability where you cannot perform daily activities without assistance, the VA can help you transition to independent living.

1 Comment
  • Jayraj
    Posted at 11:28h, 26 November Reply

    I was in Mosul Thanksgiving, Christmas, and spring of ’06. I lived on top of the hill by the side gate.It is funny that you talk about National Guard Title 32 and onnlie benefits. When I got back to NC from Mosul I came off of title 10 orders and went on Title 32 as the rear detachment NCO for 14 months (May 06 to July 07). I came off of those orders and went back to drill once a month. I had my AAS degree before I went to Iraq. When I came back I started back to school and used all of my Ch 30 GI Bill and retired from the Guard in ‘09. I started on my 12 months of benefits under the Post 9-11 GI Bill continuing to go to school onnlie. I will finish my bachelors degree in March ’11 along with my GI Bill benefits. The Post 9-11 benefits for Title 32 and onnlie will not be retro and I will not be eligible for any additional benefits. So the students who fall in the “black hole” time period were expecting the benefit to be “improved” and we started/continued our education based on these perceived improvements. So it is not difficult to understand why so many people are upset by these changes. Overall the “smoke and mirror” changes, the “robbing from Peter to pay Paul”, the perception of improvement has not been received with a warm welcome. With the Commander in Chief giving out money like he can just print more, to big corporations who are dragging this country down, it is a real kick in the a** to all of the veterans. I am thankful to have the benefits that I currently have, but again in Appalachian American terms “Those big shots who think that they can just pull the wool over our eyes had better wake up and smell the bacon, cause we veterans ain’t stupid. We didn’t go to college first so we had to go in the military (Sen Kerry).” Continuing to give money to these failing companies is like throwing fifths of liquor to an alcoholic. A wise man once provided a definition stating “If you continue to do the same thing expecting different results…” Active duty and veterans who defend this country should not have to be concerned with their government “saving money” on them. It is a profound investment in this country to provide an education to the men and women who provide us with freedom. My two cents to the whole issue would be, instead of continuing to throw money away, robbing from Peter to pay Paul, and smoke and mirrors, take a chance on investing it in these men and women. They just might surprise you.

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