The Balboa Project

By - 2007-08-29 Find more articles like this in our Disabled Veterans category.

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The Transition Training Academy (TTA) pilot project prepares disabled veterans returning from Afghanistan or Iraq for job opportunities by honing their IT skills and providing them with a marketable credential in the employment arena and CISCO certification.

As many as 20,000 veterans who have suffered combat-related serious injuries may potentially receive training through TTA.

The TTA project was implemented through a public, private partnership between the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD) and Cisco.

The first class of 20 sailors and marines graduated in early August; each student was exposed to a variety of technology disciplines, received Cisco certification and was introduced to companies at a private job fair.

The program offers Web-based exercises and online training support (via email and chat rooms) that provides an opportunity for continued learning after completion of formation classroom instruction.

DOL is in the process of exploring the development of a program that can be replicated at medial treatment facilities across the country and expand the program to include training in other career fields.

TTA is a model that melds perfectly with universal strategies like customized employment and the burgeoning trend of flexible workplace practices (e.g., telework).

TTA courses included: networking, computer and software support and Small Office Home Office (SOHO) support and were taught at levels ranging from beginner to advanced levels of experience.

In partnership with Department of Labor Veterans’ Employment and Training Service, several government and private sector organizations worked together to make the Transition Training Academy possible, including: the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) , the Naval Medical Center San Diego, California Employment Development Department, the Job Accommodation Network (funded by ODEP) , Teachers Without Borders, Cisco, Osoft, CustomGuide and Inverness Technologies.

As part of the US Department of Labor’s commitment to helping Americans with disabilities enter and remain in the workforce, ODEP has researched and implemented Telework as a viable employment option for people with disabilities, particularly returning disabled service members and disabled veterans. Telework allows employees with complex needs to work in a more flexible environment (e.g. in a home office or Telework center) using computer and communications technology.beginner to advanced levels of experience.