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Employment Training Programs

Employment and training programs help adults and youth get training and find jobs.

Find resources to fit your needs below.

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  1. Economic support programs

    Child Care Assistance Program
    Helps to make quality child care affordable for income-eligible families. All families will have a copayment based on their gross income and family size. Child care costs may be paid for qualifying families while they go to work, look for work, or attend school.

    Food Support Employment and Training Program (FSET)
    Provides qualified food support recipients with services while they gain employment and self-sufficiency. In return for monthly food support, participants must comply with work requirements; participation in work or work-related activities is required each month that the participant receives food support.

    Housing Choice Vouchers
    Allows very low-income families to choose and lease or purchase safe, decent, and affordable privately-owned rental housing.

    Minnesota Family Investment Plan (MFIP)
    Provides support for families to help them move from welfare to unsubsidized work.

    Pathways Program
    This Minnesota Job Skills Partnership (MJSP) activity acts as a catalyst between business and education in developing cooperative training projects for individuals who qualify under low income guidelines or who are making the transition from public assistance to the workforce.


  2. General public programs

    Apprenticeship
    Promotes, develops, certifies, and monitors quality registered apprenticeship training programs for Minnesota's workplaces.

    Adult Basic Education Program
    Offered through MN public school system Adult Basic Education (ABE) provides opportunities to obtain academic, interpersonal and problem solving skills necessary to live self-sufficient lives.

    Customized Training & Continuing Education
    Customized Training is education for incumbent workers— those already employed— who require tailored training to meet the specific needs of business, its employers or the industry as a whole.

    Displaced Homemaker Program
    Provides pre-employment services to men or women who have worked in the home for at least 2 years but now must support themselves and their families.

    Employment Action Center (EAC)
    Empowers and prepares individuals to achieve their employment potential, while building diversity and actively opposing racism. EAC's goals are to provide comprehensive education, employment, and family support services to low income youth, adults, and families and to ensure their academic achievement, economic success, and family stability.

    Goodwill Easter Seals
    Assists people in achieving their goals for employment, education, and independence. All services are at no cost to the participant.

    Health Care and Human Services Training Program
    Aims to alleviate worker shortages in the health care and human services industries and to increase training and educational opportunities for current and potential direct-care employees to qualify for advanced employment in these fields.

    HIRED
    Provides job-skills training and employment training to disadvantaged people and other job seekers to become qualified for and obtain employment.

    Jewish Vocational Services
    Delivers employment, training, and career development services that positively impact individuals of all backgrounds, business, and society.

    Job Service Program
    Functions as a labor exchange, offering employment opportunities on a no-fee basis to all Minnesotans and providing employers an effective method of recruitment to fill job openings.

    Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota
    Provides services to children and families, seniors, and people with disabilities in every county of Minnesota.

    Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers Program (Intercambio de información para trabajadores migrantes)
    This program provides assistance to migrant and seasonal farmworkers seeking to obtain work and to employers seeking workers in agricultural and non-agricultural employment.

    National Indian Council on Aging (NICOA)
    NICOA serves a number of tribes and is a national sponsor of Senior Community Service Employment Program - SCSEP. Its SCSEP provides meaningful part-time work experience in community services and opportunities to transition to unsubsidized jobs in private industry or the public sectors.

    Refugee Assistance
    Assists refugees with employment and other self-sufficiency goals.

    Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP)
    Provides part-time community service assignments for low-income people 55 years of age or older. These assignments are used as a training opportunity to acquire or improve existing skills to gain unsubsidized employment.

    ServeMinnesota
    Administers the AmeriCorps program (the Domestic Peace Corps) for the state and offers opportunities for individuals to commit a year or two of service to their communities in exchange for a federal AmeriCorps scholarship.

    Step-Up Apprenticeship
    Assists low-income persons, particularly public and Indian housing residents, to obtain job training, career employment, and economic self-sufficiency. Step-Up combines formal apprenticeship with educational and life skills training, and support services.

    Twin Cities Rise
    Aims to provide employers with skilled workers, primarily men from communities of color in the Twin Cities area, by training under- and unemployed adults for skilled jobs that pay a living wage of at least $20,000 annually.

    WomenVenture
    Provides the technical tools and emotional support to help you start and grow your business, find a new job, or develop a new career path.

    Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)
    Provides federal tax credit to employers as an incentive for hiring members of targeted groups. WOTC is a tool for job seekers to help them obtain gainful employment so that they may acquire the skills and experience needed to be eligible for better, higher paying job opportunities.


  3. Resources for people with disabilities

    Be sure to consult ISEEK's people with disabilities page for additional education and employment resources and services.

    Day Training and Habilitation
    Programs serve people with mental retardation and related conditions who need vocational support.

    Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services
    Assists children and adults who are deaf, deafblind, or hard of hearing and their families to access the services they need to live independently in their communities.

    Disability Determination Services (DDS)
    Determines if Minnesota applicants meet federal criteria for disability cash benefits under the Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income programs.

    Disability Linkage Line
    A free, statewide information, referral, and assistance service for people with disabilities or chronic illnesses. Ask about disability benefits programs, home modifications, assistive technology, personal assistance services, transition services, accessible housing, employment, social activities, disability rights, and more.

    Extended Employment Programs
    Provides ongoing employment support services to Minnesotans with severe disabilities or severe impairment to employment.

    Independent Living Program
    Provides services to people with significant disabilities to enhance their ability to live independently, function in their homes and with their families, and to participate in their communities.

    Medical Assistance for Employed Persons with Disabilities (MA-EPD)
    Allows working people with disabilities to qualify for Medical Assistance under higher income and asset limits.

    Minnesota Work Incentive Connection
    Provides clear, accurate information regarding the impact of work on government benefits for people with disabilities.

    State Services for the Blind (SSB)
    Ensures that persons who are blind or visually impaired (including those who have additional physical and/or mental impairments) have the rehabilitation services they need to prepare for, seek, retain, and regain employment.

    Vocational Rehabilitation Services
    Provides basic and customized services that an eligible individual may need to achieve their employment outcome. These may include college or vocational training, job placement services, and services to assist students to go from school to work.


  4. Resources for veterans

    What does ISEEK offer?

    ISEEK's Veterans section will help you plan your career, search for jobs, learn about education and training opportunities, and connect with experts on the transition process.

    You can also find scholarships and other education benefits specifically for military members, veterans and their families.

    Local and National Veterans Resources

    Higher Education Veterans Programs (HEVP)
    Connects veterans, military members, and their families with educational benefits and resources to help them succeed in college. Regional Coordinator contact information is easily located.

    Jobs for Veterans II
    This program through the Employment Action Center is designed to help recently separated veterans find jobs that best utilize their skills and fit the demands of today's job market. The program focus will be on employment in green careers.

    Key to Career Success
    Connects veterans and service members with high quality career planning, training, and job search resources available at local One-Stop Career Centers. Find topics for military spouses, employers, and the workforce staff serving them.

    Veterans Services
    Find Veterans employment representatives, Transition Assistance Program (TAP)/Army Career and Alumni Program (ACAP) workshops, Minnesota Veterans Licensure and Certification Program, Veterans Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) service, and various state and federal programs which exist to ensure that Minnesota veterans get specialized employment and training services.


  5. Resources for older workers

    Questions and Answers for Older Workers after a Job Loss
    As an older, experienced worker, you are not immune to job loss during a recession. But you may have unique concerns about navigating the job market.

    Senior Community Services Employment Program (SCSEP)
    Find local SCSEP providers at this DEED Website. There are programs across Minnesota to serve older workers in their local communities to find the next job and connect with all the resources you need after losing a job.

    Experience Works
    Experience Works is a national, charitable, community-based organization that helps seniors get the training they need to find good jobs in their communities. For more than 40 years we have devoted ourselves to helping people break out of poverty and reclaim their lives and dignity through work.

    Green View, Inc.
    Green View, Inc. is a non-profit organization that employs older workers in custodial positions at Minnesota rest areas, state parks and several other locations. Green View was established in 1969 by the Minnesota Farmers Union to provide part-time employment for seniors to supplement their income. The majority of the 600+ employees are over 55 years of age, with many workers in their 60s and 70s. The current wage for most employees is $8.40 per hour.

    For more information about Green View, Inc. call 651-639-1913.

    Job Hunting: Your Guide to Success"
    This and other publications for people 50+ are available free of charge from AARP.

    Workforce50 – Jobs for Seniors
    Workforce50.com serves older workers with a full service job board and career site. All jobs are placed by employers specifically interested in staffing from the over-50 workforce. Our employment and education resources cater to mature workers searching for employment, in transition or approaching retirement.

    Vital Aging Network – Work
    Features resources for vital living concerning work.


  6. Resources for youth

    Career and Technical Education (CTE)
    CTE students gain academic and technical skills in various occupational pathways and develop solid college and career paths while still in school. It includes the Transition-disabled program for students who require curriculum modifications and other supplemental services that are not generally available in regular secondary career and technical education programs.

    Job Corps
    The Hubert H. Humphrey Job Corps Center's mission is to attract eligible young adults, teach them the skills they need to become employable and independent, and place them in meaningful jobs or further education.

    Office of Youth Development
    Youth Services includes a core set of employment and training programs for economically disadvantaged and at-risk youth. Three programs (WIA Youth, Minnesota Youth Program and Youthbuild) form a critical strategy in preparing Minnesota 's neediest youth to succeed in a global economy.


Resources for immigrants and refugees

  1. Work-related support programs

    Dislocated Worker Program
    Serves individuals dislocated from long-held jobs because of factors such as technological changes, investment decisions, and changes in consumption and competition. Customizes services to the needs of workers and businesses affected by a plant closing or mass layoff.

    Minnesota Job Skills Partnership
    Strategically helps Minnesota businesses and schools competitively train the workforce. Grants are awarded to educational institutions that partner with businesses to develop new-job training or retraining for existing employees.

    Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA)
    The Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program is available to workers who lose their jobs (or whose hours of work and wages are reduced) as a result of increased imports.

    Vocational Rehabilitation
    The Workers' Compensation Division's Vocational Rehabilitation unit (VRU) provides vocational rehabilitation services to injured workers whose claims have been denied by the employer/insurer.

    WIA Title IB Adult Program
    The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) provides employment and training assistance to adults to increase their employment, retention, earnings, and occupational skills attainment.

    Unemployment Insurance Program (UI)
    The UI Program provides temporary benefits to qualified persons out of work through no fault of their own. The purpose of the program is to help maintain the economic stability within a community. Information for Applicants, Employers and their Agents can be easily located.

    Worker's Compensation
    Explains how Minnesota laws apply to work-related injuries or illnesses and includes frequently asked questions. Detailed information is provided for employers and employees.