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Money · 5 min read · Updated October 30, 2026

Getting paid to train a new hire on Long Island

The short version
  • On-the-job training (OJT) programs pay back part of a new hire’s wages while you train them.
  • HempsteadWorks reimburses up to 50% of the trainee’s wages, up to $10,000, for training up to 6 months.
  • Suffolk County and the Oyster Bay–North Hempstead–Glen Cove area run their own programs through their career centers.
  • Call before you hire: the new hire usually has to be set up through the career center first.

Training a new apprentice costs you: their wages while they’re still slow, and your time showing them the work. On Long Island, public workforce programs can pay part of that back. They’re called on-the-job training, or OJT.

How OJT works

Under the federal workforce law (WIOA), a local workforce board can reimburse an employer for part of a new hire’s wages during an agreed training period, to cover the extra cost of training and supervising them. The usual limit is up to 50% of the trainee’s wages. Each local board sets its own rules within that.

HempsteadWorks (Nassau County)

HempsteadWorks has the clearest published rules on Long Island. According to its OJT FAQ:

  • Up to 50% of the trainee’s wages, capped at $10,000.
  • Training can last up to 6 months. Only hours on the job in training (and job-related instruction) count; overtime, paid time off and holidays don’t.
  • Trainees can earn up to $25 an hour.
  • Your business needs operations in Nassau, Suffolk or New York City and at least two employees (owners don’t count).
  • You commit to hiring the trainee and keeping them at least 45 days after training ends, and can take up to 3 OJT trainees per program year (July to June).
  • You’ll submit a short application, a job description, and your workers’ comp and disability insurance certificates.

HempsteadWorks Career Center: 50 Clinton St., Suite 400, Hempstead · 516-485-5000.

Suffolk County

The Suffolk County Department of Labor offers OJT through its Business Services team, which reimburses training wages paid to a new hire during an agreed training plan. A representative visits your business to explain the details. The county’s One-Stop Employment Center is at 725 Veterans Memorial Highway, Hauppauge (administration: 631-853-3808).

Oyster Bay, North Hempstead and Glen Cove

This area is served by The Workforce Partnership, whose workforce board has its own on-the-job training policy. Its career center is at 977 Hicksville Road, Massapequa (516-797-4560).

Before you hire

  1. Call first. OJT is arranged before the person starts, and they usually need to be signed up with the career center. A hire you’ve already made generally won’t qualify.
  2. Ask for the current reimbursement rate, the cap, and how long training can last for your trade.
  3. Keep good time records. Programs audit attendance and payroll before they pay you back.

Rules and funding change every program year, which starts July 1. Treat the numbers above as a starting point and confirm them with the office for your area.

Where FirstHand fits

OJT pays you back for hours your new hire spends training. FirstHand keeps those hours: your apprentice logs each day, you approve it, and you can download the hours as a spreadsheet when the program asks.

FirstHand · Long Island

Hours without the paperwork.

Your apprentices log hours on their phones and you approve the week in one tap. Meet your next apprentice at an open house. Founding shops: $49/mo, locked for life.

See how it works for shops
Sources
  1. HempsteadWorks: On-the-job training FAQ
  2. Suffolk County Department of Labor: Business Services (on-the-job training)
  3. Suffolk County: One-Stop Employment Center
  4. The Workforce Partnership: Oyster Bay–North Hempstead–Glen Cove WDB policy book

Requirements change. Always check with the program or office before you apply.