On-the-Job & Apprenticeship Training

If you do not have a job or are not working in the occupation you want, contact the New Mexico Department of Labor. A DOL Veterans Employment Representative may be able to find you an employer who can offer the kind of training you need to reach the occupational objective you have selected.

To Review the list of approved OJT and Apprenticeship Training programs, click the link below. When the page from the VA website loads, direct your attention to the "Search Filters" area at the top of the page. You mush use the pull-down menu on the 'Program Type" line and select OJT or Apprenticeship Programs and then click on "New Mexico".

Approved Apprenticeship and OJT Programs  

If you dont find the company or organization you're interested in, you should then have that organization contact the New Mexico Veterans Approval Agency so that the necessary steps can be taken to approve the training programs. Most, but not all occupations can be approved.

Contact the Approval Agency in Albuquerque at (505) 841.5563 to determine your eligibility. You can download the necessary forms below.

Accredited School Application
Non-Accredited School Application
Apprenticeships & On-the-Job Training Packet

On-the-Job Training (OJT) consists of veterans learning skilled occupations through the process of performing each job function that is part of the training program outline. during training, eligible participants work under a skilled worker's supervision.

The OJT establishment must have adequate space, equipment, instructional material, and instructor personnel to provide satisfactory training to the veteran. Qualified veterans draw monthly benefits from the Veterans Administration during the applicable OJT time period. Appropriate credit is given to the trainee for previous training or experience, whether obtained in the military or elsewhere.

Upon completion of the training, the trainee will be given a certificate by the employer indication the length and type of training provided and that the trainee has completed the program of training satisfactorily.

Virtually andy job can receive approval for veterans benefits. For example:

Heating, Air Conditioning
Security, Corrections Officer
Warehouse person
Shipping and Receiving Clerk
Landscaper
Welder
Painter
Beverage, Food Server
Auto-Mechanic

On-the-Job Training Requirements

On-the-Job Training is training conducted in a work environment that is designed to enable individuals to learn a bona fide skill and/or qualify for a particular occupation through demonstration and practice. OJT Training consists of at least 6 months training, but no more than 24 months. The training is designed to lead to the maximum development of a veteran's potential and to their economic self sufficiency.

A veteran cannot qualify for a specific job by previous training or experience, nor can SAA approve jobs for which trainees can qualify quickly; for example fast food, attendant, salesman, or building custodian.

Employers are required to pay the veteran no less then the starting wage paid to non-veterans. This amount must be at least 50% of the wage that the trainee will receive upon completing the program.

Veterans wages must increase in regular increments during the training period.

The employer must certify to a reasonable certainty that a job will exist when the veteran completes training.

Apprenticeship Training

Apprenticeship Training is an industry supported system that offers hands-on and theoretical training in an apprenticeship occupation; a contract establishes the length and scope of the training. Veterans received their GI Bill benefits while working full-time and earning wages.

The program must meet the Department of Labor standards of apprenticeship.

Apprenticeship programs normally run two to four years. An occupation eligible for apprenticeship instruction requires a minimum of 2,000 hours of on-the-job training to learn the necessary manual, mechanical or technical skills, in addition to a recommended 144 hours per year of related instruction to supplement the on-the-job training.