Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 430 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE › Title 430 CMR 9.00 - Training Benefits Under M.G.L. c. 151A, Section 30(c) › Section 9.04 - Approval of Training Programs

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1) Training
			 must prepare the claimant for marketable skills in a demand occupation in the
			 claimant's work search area, or any other work search area to which the
			 claimant wishes to relocate or commute.
(2) Training providers, and in particular,
			 the training they offer must meet the following measurable standards:
(a) Have achieved or, if a new program, show
			 reasonable expectation of achieving an average placement rate in full time or
			 part time (20 hours per week or more) training related employment of 70% during
			 the most recent 12-month period for which such data is available, except that
			 if the state-wide total unemployment rate is greater than 7.0% at the time of
			 application, the placement rate shall be no less than 60% during the most
			 recent 12-month period for which such data is available. If the unemployment
			 rate is greater than 8.0%, the Director shall determine a lower, appropriate
			 placement rate. Other evidence that successful completion of the program is
			 likely to lead to reemployment may also be provided and may be considered.
			 Further, the Director may, in his or her sole discretion, approve a new program
			 with no placement data if the program is needed to address an acute workforce
			 need. These Director-approved programs shall be subject to same placement rate
			 criteria no later than the earlier of when data of at least 12 consecutive
			 calendar months are available for calculating the placement rate or 18 calendar
			 months following the date of the program's initial graduation.
(b) Be a full-time course, providing a
			 minimum of at least 20 hours of supervised classroom training per week;
			 provided, however, that:
1. if the program is
			 offered by a community college, college, or university, this requirement shall
			 be met if the program provides a minimum of 12 credits each semester or the
			 equivalent; and provided further that:
2. if the program is offered as part
			 practicum or internship and part classroom hours, the program will be approved
			 only for the time needed to complete state or federal certification or
			 licensing requirements, or the time deemed necessary by the Director to allow
			 the claimant to become employable in the occupation for which the training has
			 been provided; and provided further that:
3. if the program is an E.S.O.L. program that
			 is less than 20 hours, and no program of 20 or more hours is available within a
			 reasonable distance from the claimant's residence, the Director may waive the
			 20 hour limitation.
(c)
			 Be completed within two years of the date the claimant's application is
			 approved or the date the claimant commences the approved training, whichever is
			 later, or within three years if the program combines Basic Skills with
			 vocational or industrial training unless a reasonable accommodation to an
			 individual with disabilities requires an extended completion date. No E.S.O.L.
			 program shall be denied approval solely because it is not combined with another
			 program.
(d) Apprenticeship
			 programs approved by the Division of Apprenticeship Standards and the Director
			 under 430 CMR 9.04, and certain on-the-job training programs approved by the
			 Director, which may contain substantial periods of work rather than classroom
			 training, may extend beyond two years, if enrollment and attendance in the
			 program are interrupted by such work.
(e) Be offered by a training institution
			 which has paid all contributions, payments in lieu of contributions, and
			 interest or penalty charges due under M.G.L. c. 151A.
(f) Any training program approved under WIOA
			 shall be deemed an approved training program under
			 430 CMR 9.00.