Government of New Brunswick

Training and Employment Support Services (TESS) - Employment Services

Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour

Overview

The Training and Employment Support Services (TESS) component of the Employment Services Program provides supports to case managed New-Brunswickers who have a permanent physical, intellectual, psychiatric, cognitive, or sensory disability to participate in training and/or employment opportunities.

Eligibility

A person must:

- have an active Employment Action Plan;
- be a resident of New Brunswick or a First Nation Community in New Brunswick;
- be a high school graduate; or a high school student during part time or summer employment; or be at least 18 years of age; or be enrolled into an adult learning program;
- have a documented permanent physical, intellectual, psychiatric, cognitive, or sensory disability.

Description

Provided as part of the Employment Services Program, the purpose of TESS is to offer training and employment support options to persons with permanent physical, intellectual, psychiatric, cognitive, or sensory disabilities who need to develop marketable skills in order to assist them to enter the labour force. These services are provided in full collaboration with the person with a disability in accordance with his/her needs and abilities.

It is not the intention of TESS to support training activities for individuals who already have marketable skills to enter the labour force, nor is it the intention of TESS to place persons with disabilities in a preferred position to that of persons without disabilities. By its nature, the process is also time-limited in that provision of goods and services is aimed at attaining self-sufficiency.

The objectives of TESS are to reduce and/or remove the impact of a person’s disability in order to assist the person with a disability to participate in training and/or assist the person with a disability to obtain, or to resume employment when it has been interrupted, and/or maintain employment.

It should be noted that any individual with a disability, whether or not they are receiving income support benefits, could be eligible for services under TESS.