sistence allowance may not exceed the amount of increased pension payable under Public Law 16. (d) Recognized and accredited colleges, universities, and other educational institutions are being utilized to provide institutional training and well-established business enterprises to afford training-on-the-job. The institution selected is dependent upon the employment objective of the veteran. Training-on-the-job is provided in the veteran's home community whenever possible. Institutional training is generally provided near the veteran's residence. Tuition, books, supplies, and other incidentals are furnished in institutional training, and equipment and supplies required are provided in training-on-the-job. (e) The selection of an occupation in which rehabilitation will be effected is based upon consideration of the individual veteran's education, vocational experience, abilities, personal desires, and present disability, and contemplates that the vocational training to be provided will supply the necessary occupational information and develop the proper skills to afford the disabled person a wellrounded knowledge of and the ability to perform all the skills, job operations and work tasks which are essential to meeting employment requirements in the chosen occupation. (f) Maintenance and support during training and for 2 months after employability has been determined will be provided through increased pension. A single person will receive a pension at the rate of $92 a month; a married person $103.50 a month, with $5.75 a month for each dependent child, and an additional allotment in the amount of $11.50 a month for each dependent parent. A loan not exceeding $100 may be made to trainees commencing or undertaking vocational rehabilitation training. (g) Payments by employer-trainers to veterans during training-on-the-job are authorized. However, if such payments, when added to the increased pension received by the veteran under Public Law No. 16, result in the veteran receiving an amount in excess of the amount the employer is paying a beginning qualified employee in the occupation in which the veteran is being trained, the excess will be deducted from the increased pension. (h) No course of instruction can exceed 4 years in length, nor shall any training under Public Law 16 be afforded beyond 6 years after the termination of the present war. (i) Application for pension on V. A. Form 526 must be made to initiate determination as to the presence or absence of a pensionable disability producing a vocational handicap. If a vocational handicap is present, the veteran will be advised that he or she may make application for vocational rehabilitation training. Apply at any field station of the Veterans' Administration. 410.6 Vocational Rehabilitation, Non-Service-Connected.Veterans who are not eligible for vocational rehabilitation by the Veterans' Administration because they do not have a pensionable service-connected disability based upon World War II service or do not otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be eligible for education or training under the GI Bill or be entitled to vocational rehabilitation as a disabled individual or a war-disabled civilian under a Federal-State plan for vocational rehabilitation. For complete information communicate with the State board for Vocational education (Public Law 113, 78th Cong., approved July 6, 1943). 410.7 Vocational Training, Local.-Veterans who cannot qualify for any types of training listed, will find that labor unions, company training programs, and a large number of private and State schools and colleges provide ways for an individual to work his way through practically any type of vocational training program. The usual method of making application for such courses is to write to the school the veteran would like to attend, the company whose training course he would like to take, or union in the field in which he would like to study for information as to opportunities currently available. 410.8 Disabled Dependents.-Any disabled dependent who may be made employable may secure, through the State rehabilitation agency, special training and other services necessary to prepare him for a job. Application should be made to the State board for vocational education or other State rehabilitation agency. 410.9 Apprentice Training.—(a) The Federal Committee on Apprenticeship acts under Public Law 308, Seventy-fifth Congress, 1937. This committee, which is equally representative of management and labor is the national policy-making body on apprentice training. (b) Apprenticeship, as conducted in American industry under modern methods, is a system of training in which an employee is given thorough instruction and experience, both on the job and in the classroom, in all the practical and theoretical aspects of the work in a skilled trade. Apprenticeship programs are set up in accordance with certain basic standards, mutually agreed upon by employers and labor in the various skilled trades, which are recommended by the Federal Committee on Apprenticeship. (c) A veteran who is accepted for employment as an appren tice earns as he learns. His wages increase as he advances from one step in his training to another. The advancement takes place at regular intervals usually every 6 months. Upon completion of his apprenticeship he receives the wage rate paid all-around skilled workers in the trade. The wages paid apprentices vary with the different trades and localities and are based on the wages paid the all-around skilled workers in the trade in the locality. (d) Under the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (GI Bill), a veteran who enters an apprenticeship program, approved in accordance with the terms of the act, is entitled to a subsistence allowance in an amount to be determined by the administrator of the act. The subsistence allowance as provided in the act for education and training is $50 per month for a single person, and $75 per month for those with dependants. How this allowance is applied to veterans in apprentice-training programs is stated in Veterans' Administration Instruction No. 2, 19 (b) as follows: Where the veteran is receiving compensation for productive labor, performed as part of his apprenticeship or other training on the job, the amount of subsistence when added to his current monthly salary or wage based upon the standard workweek exclusive of overtime, shall not be in excess of the standard beginning salary or wage payable to a journeyman workman in the occupation or trade in which training is being given, similarly based upon the standard workweek exclusive of overtime. (e) Apprentice training, being a type of training on the job, is prescribed by the Veterans' Administration for eligible veterans under the provisions of Public Law 16, Seventy-eighth Congress, when such training is suitable and feasible. The increased pension, granting a subsistence allowance, will be adjusted in amount so that the wage received when added to the increased pension, will not exceed the minimum entrance wage paid by the employertrainer to an employee in the particular job for which the person is being trained. (f) Applications for apprentice training are governed by the following: (1) Veteran must show aptitude for a skilled trade. (2) High school graduates are usually preferred. (3) An age limit of from 18 to 24 years is usually imposed. However, returning veterans are generally considered to be the same age as they were when they entered military service. For example, a veteran entering military service at 23 years of age and serving 3 years would be eligible under this principle to enter an apprenticeship in which the maximum age for apprentice is 24. (4) A veteran with the desired aptitude will qualify so long as he is physically able to perform the work in a skilled trade. Those with physical disabilities are being employed as apprentices in many trades where the work is suited to them. (5) Veterans who meet the required qualifications are being given preference in the selection of applicants for apprentice training. (g) Apprentice training is given in every major industry in which all-around skilled workers are employed, with the assistance of the apprentice-training service. The great majority of these programs are conducted under the guidance of a local joint management-labor apprenticeship committee, and under the direction of a supervisor of apprentices. (h) Apprentice training in most trades usually requires about 4 years. The length of time, however, varies with the trade. Some apprentices may complete their training ahead of the regular schedule, if they have had previous work experience in a skilled trade, either before they entered military service or while they were in the armed forces, and can obtain credit for such experience. If credit is allowed the veteran, he will be paid the wage rate applicable to the level for which he is qualified. (i) If a veteran was employed as an apprentice prior to his entry into the armed forces, he is entitled, under section 8 of the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, as amended, to reinstatement with his former employer, provided he meets all other requirements of the act. He, too, will be entitled to the monthly payments provided by the GI Bill, with limitations as heretofore indicated. (j) Application for apprentice training by a veteran should be made to the Veterans' Administration or to the United States Employment Service. The veterans' employment representative in the USES office will advise the veteran where there are the most likely opportunities for apprentice training in the trade best suited to him. Applications for apprenticeship may also be made directly to an employer or to a local labor organization in the trade in which a veteran wishes to be trained. |