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Overview
Eligible Training Providers (ETPs) are entities with job training programs approved by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) to provide Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)–funded training services. Local Workforce Development Boards (Boards) fund training for Adult and Dislocated Worker program participants primarily through Individual Training Accounts (ITAs). The publicly accessible Statewide Eligible Training Providers List (ETPL) includes all programs that are currently approved by TWC for ITA funding. The Statewide ETPL Performance Report includes data related to student enrollment for approved programs from July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2022.
Inclusion on the statewide ETPL does not guarantee that a Board will refer any student to the program or that it will receive any funds.
Eligible Training Provider Coordinators
ETP Coordinators at each Board manage the application process for training providers based in their local workforce development area (workforce area), provide technical assistance on program eligibility and the submission of program information, and process program updates for existing ETPs.
Contact information for all ETP Coordinators is included below.
How To Apply
The application process is as follows:
- The provider submits provider, campus, and program information to the Board (determined by main campus location).
- The Board reviews the information (updates may be required).
- The Board submits provider/program information to TWC (pending student-level data).
- TWC reviews the information (updates may be required).
- TWC sends Student Data Report (SDR) to the provider.
- The provider submits completed SDR to TWC.
- TWC reviews the information.
- TWC includes the provider’s programs on the statewide ETPL.
This process typically takes between two to six weeks, depending on the amount of information provided and the accuracy of the information reported.
Occupational training programs, including those provided by institutions of higher education, career schools, apprenticeship sponsors, and community-based organizations, may be eligible for the statewide ETPL. Such training providers must be identified by Texas Education Code §62, be appropriately licensed, or be exempt from licensure, in accordance with Texas Education Code §132. Providers must submit evidence of existing partnerships with local businesses for programs. Generally, programs must lead to occupations included on the statewide Target Occupations List.
To be included on the statewide ETPL, WIOA requires all ETPs, except Registered Apprenticeships, to submit verifiable student-level performance data for all students connected to programs. The data are collected through SDRs distributed to providers by TWC. For new programs, SDRs are required before inclusion on the statewide ETPL.
New providers, except Registered Apprenticeships, may collect information required to determine eligibility using the Initial Training Provider Tool before submitting that information to their local ETP Coordinator.
Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP) sponsors apply through a separate process, provided below.
Registered Apprenticeship Programs
Registered Apprenticeship is a business-driven model of job preparation that uses an earn-while-you-learn strategy, providing immediate access to employment at sustainable wages and advancement along a career path.
Because these programs undergo the US Department of Labor’s (DOL) rigorous application and vetting process, they are automatically eligible for the statewide ETPL. RAPs are not required to submit student-level data or meet other state or local criteria to be included on the statewide ETPL. Boards must consider all RAPs on the statewide ETPL to be connected to local target occupations.
Sponsors, or providers, of RAPs should contact TWC's ETP unit to request inclusion on the statewide ETPL. TWC requires the following information, which may be provided using the Initial Registered Apprenticeship Program Tool:
- Name and address of RAP sponsor (provider)
- Name and address of instruction site (if different from sponsor)
- Method and duration of instruction
- Occupations included in the RAP
- Number of apprentices
- Cost of instruction (only if sponsor does not provide related instruction portion of the RAP)
RAPs will be included on the statewide ETPL—and available to students throughout Texas—until the sponsor requests removal or the program is no longer DOL-approved.
Annual Reporting
Eligible programs must submit an SDR each year in July for continued inclusion on the statewide ETPL.
The reporting deadline for all ETPs for Program Year 2021 (PY’21) is July 11, 2022.
Under limited circumstances, extensions to reporting deadlines may be available for programs, on a case-by-case basis, if approved by TWC. Such extensions may be included for programs that have not been taught to any students or those providers that experience substantial and unexpected changes related to natural disasters or unexpected personnel or technology challenges.
- Student Data Report Template
(Note: this template is for reference only. Actual reports are distributed to providers with program-specific data included.) - FAQ – Student Data Reports 2019
- Webinar – PY18 ETP Student Data Reports
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects students’ right to privacy of their educational records and information. Under FERPA, an eligible student, or his or her parent, must provide written consent before the educational agency or institution can disclose personally identifiable information (PII), unless a listed exception applies. Joint guidance, issued in 2016 by the US Departments of Labor and Education, clarifies FERPA’s audit and evaluation exception as it relates to WIOA’s ETPs and programs. TWC uses its audit and evaluation authority to collect information on students, so that program performance information is provided to the public, in aggregate form—as required by WIOA—on the statewide ETPL.
- Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) 07-16, issued on August 23, 2016, by the US Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration (DOLETA)
Target Occupations
WIOA requires Boards to target high-growth, high-demand and emerging occupations within their workforce areas. To be approved for the statewide ETPL, ETPs (except Registered Apprenticeships) must align with an occupation included on the state’s Target Occupations List. Each Board maintains its own list of local target occupations. The statewide list includes occupations approved by one or more Boards.
- Target Occupations List
Generally, for WIOA-eligible students to receive training funds for a program, except Registered Apprenticeships, that program must be included on the Board’s target occupations list, or such list in an area to which the student is willing to commute or relocate.
Tips and Guides
The WIOA Guidelines for Adults, Dislocated Workers, and Youth provides Boards with criteria and documentation sources for establishing WIOA Title I program eligibility for adults, dislocated workers, and youth. These guidelines include information related to participant eligibility for training services and general information about other training programs available through the WIOA program.
- WIOA Guidelines for Adults, Dislocated Workers, and Youth
(Effective October 1, 2021)
For additional assistance, contact the TWC ETP unit at etp.helpdesk@twc.texas.gov.
