Printer-friendly version

Training Benefits

Training Benefits are extra UI benefits paid to workers who have lost their job and are attending an approved full-time vocational training program. You may receive Training Benefits after you run out of all your regular benefits. If approved for Training Benefits, you may receive up to 52 times your weekly benefit amount, minus the amount you received in regular benefits.

You must meet very specific timeframes to be eligible for Training Benefits.

You must submit a Training Benefits Application within 60 days (plus 5 days mailing) of being notified that Training Benefits are available.
You must also enroll in training within 90 days after we notify you of the availability of Training Benefits. Enrolled in training means you have preregistered for classes or are on a waiting list, have a starting date of training, and that starting date is not more than one quarter or term away. We consider you notified of Training Benefits when you receive your Unemployment Claims Kit after you file a new claim for benefits.
If you later reopen your claim after working, the 60 and 90 day time frames start again.

We will deny Training Benefits if you do not meet the 60 and 90 day time frames shown above.

You may be eligible for Training Benefits if you were laid off or terminated from your job and need job-related training to find work. Training Benefits allow you to collect additional weeks of unemployment benefits once you run out of your regular benefits, and are enrolled in an approved training program. If approved for Training Benefits, you are not required to look for work as long as you are enrolled and making satisfactory progress in an approved full-time training program. Like Commissioner Approved Training (CAT), Training Benefits do not pay for books, tuition, or school-related fees. You are not eligible if you received Training Benefits within the past five years.

To be potentially eligible for training benefits, you must:

Have a current unemployment claim (applied for within the past 12 months);
Submit a Training Benefits Application Packet within 60 days (plus 5 days mailing) of filing your new claim or reopening a claim after returning to work and then becoming unemployed;
Be eligible for or have exhausted your regular unemployment benefits;
Have a long-term history of working in an occupation or using a particular skill; and
Be unlikely to return to work because your skills are no longer in demand in your local labor market, as determined by your local Workforce Development Council.

An approved training program is a course of education which:

Is full time, as determined by the school or training facility;
Is at a school or training facility, and in a training program on the Eligible Training Provider List approved by the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board;
Provides you with skills that will allow you to get a job in an occupation which is in high demand in your labor market, as determined by your local Workforce Development Council; and
Is not primarily intended to meet the requirements of a baccalaureate or higher degree.

To apply for training benefits:

Call the TeleCenter at 800-318-6022 to ask for a Training Benefits Application Packet, contact your nearest WorkSource Office, or download and print a packet online.

Mail your completed application to:

King County TeleCenter
Training Benefits Unit
PO Box 47076
Seattle, WA 98146-7076

You can also drop off your completed application at the nearest WorkSource office.

We will send you a written denial if you fail to meet any of the Training Benefits eligibility requirements. Please refer to the appeals section to learn how to appeal a written denial of benefits.

Training benefits are subject to the availability of training funds at the time you apply.

If you need to make any modifications to your approved training plan, you must complete the Request to Modify Training Plan form.