Many employees know that they are entitled to some form of monetary benefits if they are injured on the job. However, money isn't the only thing that you are entitled to after a workplace injury. Through workers compensation benefits, you are also entitled to vocational training, which equips you with the right skills you need to resume work. Here are four examples of vocational training services that you may benefit from:
Labor Market Surveys
If you can't get back to your former job, then you need help acquiring another one. A labor market survey helps by providing you with relevant information on local jobs. This includes recently filled jobs, anticipated, and recently opened jobs. This increases your chances of landing a suitable job.
Assume you are a truck driver who gets injured in an accident. Suppose that your accident results in a disability that means you cannot drive trucks anymore. Through labor market surveys, you may learn that there is growing demand for theoretical driving instructors. In such a case, workers compensation may help you get the necessary licenses and prepare you for the profession.
Ergonomic Assessment
A disability doesn't always mean that you can't go back to your former job. Sometimes all that is needed is an ergonomic assessment and improvement, and you can resume your former duties. The assessment ensures that your workplace (for example, your workstation) is designed to maximize your productivity and mitigate further deterioration of your health condition. For example, if your back was injured in an accident, then you may be provided with a lumbar (back) support chair to ease your discomfort.
Interview Skills and Technique Assistance
If you have been doing one job for a long time, then it's possible that your interviewing skills are a little rusty. Getting a job with such skills would be difficult, because a prospective employer has to be assured of your competence before hiring you. Workers compensation should help you to brush up your interviewing skills and make you marketable. This may include consulting with career coaches and engaging in mock interviews.
Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling
An injury may affect both your physical and psychological well-being. Therefore, as you rehabilitate your physical body, you also need to prepare your mind for a change in career. This is what vocational rehabilitation counseling does. The counselor will also evaluate your abilities, and help you devise different ways for maximizing them.
These are just four examples, but there are many other ways in which workers' compensation can help you prepare for work after an injury. Therefore, don't just focus on the monetary benefits when claiming workers compensation. A workers compensation attorney will help you to get all the vocational help that the regulatory limitations allow.
