§ 3677 — Approval Of Training On The Job

(a) Any State approving agency may approve a program of training on the job (other than a program of apprenticeship) only when it finds that the job which is the objective of the training is one in which progression and appointment to the next higher classification are based upon skills learned through organized and supervised training on the job and not on such factors as length of service and normal turnover, and that the provisions of subsections (b) and (c) of this section are met. (1) The training establishment offering training which is desired to be approved for the purposes of this chapter must submit to the appropriate State approving agency a written application for approval which, in addition to furnishing such information as is required by the State approving agency, contains a certification that— (A) the wages to be paid the eligible veteran or person (i) upon entrance into training, are not less than wages paid nonveterans in the same training position and are at least 50 per centum of the wages paid for the job for which the veteran or person is to be trained, and (ii) such wages will be increased in regular periodic increments until, not later than the last full month of the training period, they will be at least 85 per centum of the wages paid for the job for which such eligible veteran or person is being trained; and (B) there is reasonable certainty that the job for which the eligible veteran or person is to be trained will be available to the veteran or person at the end of the training period. (2) The requirement under paragraph (1)(A)(ii) shall not apply with respect to a training establishment operated by the United States or by a State or local government. (3) The requirement for certification under paragraph (1) shall not apply to training described in section 3452(e)(2) of this title. (c) As a condition for approving a program of training on the job (other than a program of apprenticeship) the State approving agency must find upon investigation that the following criteria are met: (1) The training content of the course is adequate to qualify the eligible veteran or person for appointment to the job for which the veteran or person is to be trained. (2) The job customarily requires full-time training for a period of not less than six months and not more than two years. (3) The length of the training period is not longer than that customarily required by the training establishments in the community to provide an eligible veteran or person with the required skills, arrange for the acquiring of job knowledge, technical information, and other facts which the eligible veteran or person will need to learn in order to become competent on the job for which the veteran or person is being trained. (4) Provision is made for related instruction for the individual eligible veteran or person who may need it. (5) There is in the training establishment adequate space, equipment, instructional material, and instructor personnel to provide satisfactory training on the job. (6) Adequate records are kept to show the progress made by each eligible veteran or person toward such veteran’s or person’s job objective. (7) No course of training will be considered bona fide if given to an eligible veteran or person who is already qualified by training and experience for the job. (8) A signed copy of the training agreement for each eligible veteran or person, including the training program and wage scale as approved by the State approving agency, is provided to the veteran or person and to the Secretary and the State approving agency by the employer. (9) That the course meets such other criteria as may be established by the State approving agency. (1) The Secretary may conduct a pilot program under which the Secretary operates a program of training on the job under this section for a period (notwithstanding subsection (c)(2)) of up to three years in duration to train employees of the Department to become qualified adjudicators of claims for compensation, dependency and indemnity compensation, and pension. (A) Not later than three years after the implementation of the pilot project, the Secretary shall submit to Congress an initial report on the pilot project. The report shall include an assessment of the usefulness of the program in recruiting and retaining of personnel of the Department as well as an assessment of the value of the program as a training program. (B) Not later than 18 months after the date on which the initial report under subparagraph (A) is submitted, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a final report on the pilot project. The final report shall include recommendations of the Secretary with respect to continuation of the pilot project and with respect to expansion of the types of claims for which the extended period of on the job training is available to train such employees.