CHAPTER _______

An act to add Section 14017 to the Unemployment Insurance Code, relating to the California Workforce Investment Board.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1797, Rodriguez. California Workforce Investment Board.

Under existing law, the Labor and Workforce Development Agency consists of, among other entities, the California Workforce Investment Board and the Department of Industrial Relations. Existing law makes the board responsible for assisting the Governor in the development, oversight, and continuous improvement of California’s workforce investment system and the alignment of the education and workforce investment systems to the needs of the 21st Century economy and workforce. Existing law provides for the establishment of apprenticeship programs in various trades, to be approved by the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards within the Department of Industrial Relations in any trade in the state or in a city or trade area whenever the apprentice training needs justify the establishment.

In efforts to expand job training and employment for allied health professions, this bill would require the board, in consultation with the division, to, among other things, identify opportunities for “earn and learn” job training opportunities and develop the means to identify, assess, and prepare a pool of qualified candidates seeking to enter “earn and learn” job training models. The bill would require the board, on or before December 1, 2015, to prepare and submit to specified legislative committees a report documenting the above findings and making recommendations based on those findings.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 14017 is added to the Unemployment Insurance Code, to read:

14017.  

(a) In efforts to expand job training and employment for allied health professions, the California Workforce Investment Board, in consultation with the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, shall do the following:

(1) Identify opportunities for “earn and learn” job training opportunities that meet the industry’s workforce demands and that are in high-wage, high-demand jobs.

(2) Identify and develop specific requirements and qualifications for entry into “earn and learn” job training models.

(3) Establish standards for “earn and learn” job training programs that are outcome oriented and accountable. The standards shall measure the results from program participation, including a measurement of how many complete the program with an industry-recognized credential that certifies that the individual is ready to enter the specific allied health profession for which he or she has been trained.

(4) Develop means to identify, assess, and prepare a pool of qualified candidates seeking to enter “earn and learn” job training models.

(b) (1) The board, on or before December 1, 2015, shall prepare and submit to the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature a report on the findings and recommendations of the board.

(2) The requirement for submitting a report imposed pursuant to this subdivision is inoperative on January 1, 2019, pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.

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