Getting job training while unemployed

Training may help you get a better job.

While you are getting trained:

• You do not have to do DUA's work search or look for a new job.
• You keep getting regular Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits.
• After your regular UI benefits run out, you may be able to get extended UI benefits for up to 26 weeks.

TOP approves vocational, college, apprenticeship, or basic skills training. Basic skills can be English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), High School Equivalency (HSE), or Adult Basic Education (ABE) programs. The training program must:

1. Provide vocational or basic skills training.
2. Be full-time*.
3. Have a 70% job placement rate so that you are likely to find a job.
4. last no longer than 2 years or be a program you can finish in 2 years, if you already started it.

If your program has not been approved by DUA but it meets these 4 requirements, ask the TOP Unit to approve your program when you apply for TOP.

Note: You can take 3 years to finish if the course combines ESOL, High School Equivalency, or ABE with vocational training. You can take ESOL alone. If you need High School Equivalency or ABE training you need to do vocational training also.

*Full-time means at least:

• 20 hours of weekly classroom training, or
• 12 credits per semester of college or the equivalent.

You may be able to do less than full-time, if:

• The class has lots of out-of-class work, or
• You have a disability that makes full-time training difficult.

Information about how to apply for TOP is on the Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) website. You can apply:

• Through your UI Online account,
• By calling the TOP Unit: 617-626-5221, or
• At any MassHIRE Career Center.

You must apply within

• 20 weeks after you start getting Unemployment Insurance (UI) , and
• At least 3 weeks before the program starts.

The 20 week clock starts with the week after you start getting UI, not the week after you first apply for UI. If you are originally denied UI benefits, but then you win your appeal and start getting benefits, you will still have 20 weeks to apply for TOP.

If you miss the 20 week deadline, you can still apply. DUA might still approve you for TOP benefits if the reason you applied late was a reason outside your control. See Worksheet: Keeping track of information.

Before you apply, you must find a training program that:

• DUA has approved, or
• is a full-time vocational program with a 70% placement rate that DUA can approve.

Any MassHIRE Career Center can help:

• See MassHire Jobquest or
• Call the TOP Unit: 617-626-5521.

Note: Your training provider must complete part of the application form.

Wait to get approval from DUA before you begin training.

While you wait to hear from DUA, keep:

• Searching for work full-time, and
• certifying every week.

You should hear from DUA within 3 weeks after you applied. If you don’t, call the TOP Unit: 617-626-5521.

Note: You can quit your job to go to training only if the job is part-time and you started the job after you applied for regular Unemployment.

TOP does not pay for the training program.

If you cannot afford training, you can apply for 2 kinds of government funding:

Individual Training Account (ITA)

Apply at a local MassHIRE Career Center.

• See the MassHire Career Centers website, or
• Call 1-877-US2JOBS.

When you apply for funding, the Career Center looks at your

• income,
• training you have had already, and
• where you live.

Your program must be on the Career Center’s list of ITA approved programs.

Federal Pell Grant

Pell Grants can pay for up to $6,895 for education or training at most universities, community colleges, and vocational schools.

• Use the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online, or
• Call the Federal Student Aid Information Center for a paper application, 1-800 4-Fed-Aid (433-3243).

Your school or training program will have a deadline for applying for financial aid. Check the FAFSA deadline for your school or training provider.

Important: You may be submitting 2 applications:

1. One application is for TOP.
2. The other application is to pay for your training.

You can contact a MassHire Career Center for more help finding financial aid.

While you are in training:

• Attend all your classes.
• Certify weekly on UI Online that you are in training.

You can still get TOP during a vacation break, if the break is 3 weeks or less and you return to class after the break.

If the break is more than 3 weeks you will not get TOP extended benefits.

If you still have regular benefits left, you may be able to get them but you must complete at least 3 work search activities and certify for benefits each week during the break.