Secondary or postsecondary education programs available in regular or trade high schools or through separate vocational centers or programs that provide formal preparation for semiskilled, skilled, technical or professional occupations for high-school-aged students and, in some cases, adults who have opted to develop or expand their employment opportunities, often in lieu of preparing for college entry. Vocational education programs help participants prepare for full-time employment upon graduation, part-time employment while in school or for more advanced vocational training at the postsecondary level.

Programs that offer employment related training courses, generally in a traditional classroom setting, which provide participants with the technical skills and information they need to perform a particular job or group of jobs. The training has a structured, defined curriculum and may feature lectures, demonstrations, simulations, role-playing, self-study and other similar activities. Classroom style training is also the primary format used for training in the "soft skills" that are required to get a job, stay employed and advance.

Programs that identify public or private sector employers that are willing to take on trainees who learn to perform the tasks that are associated with their position at the work site using the actual tools, equipment, documents and materials that they will use when fully trained. OJT trainees work under the supervision of skilled employees who serve as instructors following a training plan established by the employee, the employer and an external agency, if matching wages are being paid by that agency; and are engaged in productive work and earn a wage as they are trained. Employers may be offered cash training reimbursements (subsidized wages) or other incentives to hire difficult-to-employ individuals and are generally expected to hire the trainees upon successful completion of the training.

Individuals who are generally between the ages of 18 and 25 depending on the ages that specific programs use for qualification.

Individuals who have a high school diploma or GED certificate which documents satisfactory completion of the required curriculum.

Individuals whose ethnic background and ancestry are that of the tribal, aboriginal peoples who originated in what is now the United States. Included are Native Americans who are living on or off reservations in rural and urban areas.