WSIB - Ontario Nurses' Association

How to get the most out of your WTP?We recommend you do some information gathering regarding jobs and educationthat you are interested in prior to the first meeting with the Work Transition Specialist.Providing the WTS with detailed information regarding job interests thatare truly suitable for your condition is your best chance at getting a plan that canactually help you restore your pre-injury earnings basis. To sell the WTS on youridea, you can get course and job information, including retraining period, costof retraining, earnings information from possible future employers, professionalorganizations, unions, universities and colleges, newspaper ads, Employment andImmigration Canada, etc. The training course and physical job demands can alsobe reviewed by your physician regarding medical suitability and medical sustainability.A WTS will take into account: your interests; if the training and resulting job ismedically suitable; if you will be able to complete the training; and which SO willmost likely reduce WSIB’s liability to pay you a partial or full loss of earningsbenefit to age 65. The WTS will also have to consider if the job is likely medicallysustainable, i.e., is your condition expected to deteriorate and make the job unsuitable.Are there sustainable jobs available in the community?What will WSIB consider and what components of a WTP can WSIB approve?If WSIB agrees to retrain, they can and should pay for anything associated withthe retraining and needs of your injury. These costs include LOE benefits, tuition,books, travel, professional registration exam costs, accommodation needs like adual set of books, a home computer and ergonomic workstation etc. Anythingpertaining to the retraining or accommodation of your restrictions must normallybe included in the plan at the time it is submitted to WSIB for approval, or youmay have a difficult time getting add-ons approved at a later date.In considering retraining, WSIB looks at whether you are likely to complete theprogram, whether the proposed job is medically suitable, and how lengthy theretraining program is when compared to the other SOs identified by the WTS.Although WSIB is not keen on approving lengthy plans, we have been successful(especially in cases where the worker is well prepared before the first meeting)in having university programs approved, i.e. upgrade to Bachelor’s in Nursing,nurse practitioner course. WSIB looks at whether the cost of retraining is reasonableand whether there is no other suitable employment available to the worker.They consider the age and educational background of the worker, i.e., if the workeris older, lengthy training will likely not be approved.35