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Overview

Skills for Veterans The TWC Skills for Veterans initiative dedicates $1 million from the Skills Development Fund to address the training needs of post-9/11 veterans returning home and entering the Texas workforce. Skills for Veterans will enhance the skills of veterans, which will benefit Texas employers. Employers who hire post-9/11 era veterans, especially those who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn or Operation Enduring Freedom, may be eligible to participate in this training opportunity.

All private businesses, including private, nonprofit hospitals, can apply to TWC for training offered by their local community or technical college, or the Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX), to upgrade the skills of newly hired veterans. We review the applications and work with the college to fund the specific courses selected by businesses for their employees.

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Eligibility Criteria

To participate in Skills for Veterans, a business must meet all of these requirements:

  • Be a private, for-profit business, or private nonprofit hospital
  • Employ at least one full-time, permanent individual
  • Be financially stable
  • Be liable to pay Unemployment Insurance contributions to TWC, and be in compliance with the reporting and payment requirements
  • Be in compliance with the Texas Business and Commerce Code

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Program Information

Skills for Veterans pays up to $1,450 to be used in a 12-month period for an eligible post-9/11 era veteran hired within the three months prior to our receipt of the training application. The training funding for an individual is not available after 12 months. Tuition and fees must be for course offerings that are provided by public community and technical colleges in the local area. Skills for Veterans will not cover costs for course offerings from third-party vendors, universities, or proprietary or vocational schools.

We will provide Skills for Veterans funding to local public community or technical colleges or TEEX to pay for veteran training under this initiative. The college will work with the business to identify training courses to enhance the skills of veterans and benefit the employer’s business operations. Businesses are responsible for all course costs not covered by Skills for Veterans funding.

The hourly wage of each employee for whom training is being requested must meet the prevailing wage for that occupation in the local labor market. TWC will use local labor market wage data to determine if this requirement is met. To determine the prevailing wage for an occupation, see TWC’s Prevailing Wage Data ResearchPDF.

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How to Apply

Interested employers should partner with their local community or technical college to apply.

Documents

Instructions

  • Identify new employees to be trained and obtain a copy of the post-9/11 veteran’s Form DD214 for the application.
  • Identify each employee's job/occupation title and corresponding Standard Occupational Classification Code using the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Standard Occupational Classification system.
  • Identify employees’ wages. To find prevailing wage data for your area, use TWC’s Labor Market and Career Information.
  • Determine if the employee’s occupation is one of the Workforce Development Board’s targeted occupations, shown below. The Skills for Veterans initiative emphasizes training in the occupations targeted by the Boards. To identify the Board for your area, see TWC’s map of Workforce Development Boards.
  • Identify the two-year public community or technical college nearest the business location using the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s College Locator.
  • Select training course(s) from the regular credit, continuing education and/or online course catalogs. TWC maintains a list of links to College Catalogs and Class SchedulesPDF.
  • Submit the completed application directly to TWC. E-mail the application to SkillsforVeterans@twc.state.tx.us or fax it to 512-463-7187.

For assistance, contact TWC Workforce Business Services staff at 877-463-1777 or e-mail SkillsforVeterans@twc.state.tx.us.

Targeted Occupations Lists

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See Also

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Service

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Last Verified: November 26, 2012

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