BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2288
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 6, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
Roger Hernández, Chair
AB 2288
(Burke) - As Introduced February 18, 2016
SUBJECT: Apprenticeship programs: building and construction
trades
SUMMARY: Enacts provisions related to pre-apprenticeship
programs in the building and construction trades. Specifically,
this bill:
1)Requires the California Workforce Development Board (Board)
and each local board to ensure, to the maximum extent
feasible, that programs and services funded by the federal
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 (WIOA) and
directed to apprenticeable occupations in the building and
construction trades, including pre-apprenticeship training,
include plans for outreach and retention to increase the
percentage of women in the building and construction trades.
2)Require the Board and each local board to also ensure, to the
maximum extent feasible, that pre-apprenticeship training in
the building and construction trades follows the Multi-Craft
Core Curriculum developed by the Department of Education for
its pilot project with California Partnership Academies.
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EXISTING LAW:
1)Provides that the Board is responsible for assisting the
Governor in the development, oversight, and continuous
improvement of California's workforce investment system.
2)Requires that the Board and each local workforce development
board ensure that programs and services funded by WIOA and
directed to apprenticeable occupations are conducted in
coordination with apprenticeship programs approved by the
Division of Apprenticeship Standards, as specified.
3)Requires the Board and each local workforce development board
to develop a policy of fostering collaboration between
community colleges and approved apprenticeship programs in the
geographic area.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: This bill is sponsored by the State Building and
Construction Trades Council of California and would require
pre-apprenticeship programs in the building and construction
trades to include a plan for outreach, recruitment, and
retention of women and require the use of the Multi-Craft Core
Curriculum developed for the purpose of preparing students and
pre-apprenticeship participants for labor-management
apprenticeship programs.
Women in the Trades
According to the sponsor, recruiting women into non-traditional
careers like the construction trades has been a full time effort
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for the State Building and Construction Trades Council. They
note that the state and its unions invest a great amount of time
and resources working on ways to encourage women to consider a
career in construction. The sponsor founded and has held the
"Women in the Building Trades Conference" for over 14 years.
The conference attracts over 1,000 women each year from all over
the nation and other countries.
They contend that, historically, a construction career has not
been a traditional choice for women when deciding what type of
career to pursue after high school, and exposure to different
career options like those in the building and construction
trades can be critical in opening the door to new choices and
solid, living wage jobs.
Therefore, this bill helps promote women in the trades by
requiring programs and services funded by the WIOA and directed
to apprenticeable occupations in the building and construction
trades to include plans to increase the percentage of women in
those trades.
Pre-Apprenticeship and the Multi-Core Craft Curriculum
According to information provided by the sponsor, the
Multi-Craft Core Curriculum (MC3) was developed in 2007 by the
leaders of National Building Trades to identify common elements
in all building and construction trades' apprenticeship programs
and combine them together in one curriculum encompassing 120
hours of training.
The curriculum includes general orientation to apprenticeships,
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cardiopulmonary resuscitation and first aid, an Occupational
Safety and Health Administration 10-hour certification course,
blue print reading, applied mathematics for the building and
construction trades, and the history of the construction
industry and the heritage of the American worker. It also
exposes students to the tools of the various trades, the safe
handling of those tools, the structure of the construction
industry, the construction process, and an orientation to
apprenticeship itself.
Currently, as part of State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Tom Torlakson's Career Readiness Campaign, nine California
Partnership Academy high schools from across the state have
implemented this curriculum to ensure students are engaged in
their educational experience and also to prepare them for a
successful career outside of the classroom. An August 2014
press release from the California Department of Education
states:
"Staff from the California Department of Education worked with
members of the California Labor Federation, North America's
Building Trades Unions, and the State Building & Construction
Trades Council of California to create the MC3 program in
California Partnership Academies (CPA). A CPA is three-year
high school program structured as a school-within-a-school.
Academies integrate academic and career technical education,
business partnerships, mentoring, and internships designed to
give students hands-on learning experiences. CPAs serve
students at risk of dropping out, whose schools rank below
average on the state's Academic Performance Index. The
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successful program has resulted in a 95 percent graduation
rate among CPA students.
Nine career technical education teachers in the pilot project
CPAs have received training from their partner industry
professionals and earned certifications to teach the MC3
program. Teachers will now design lessons to assure students
are prepared for each succeeding step, ultimately building up
to a "capstone" course. The capstone course prepares students
for a pre-apprenticeship position in the construction trade
industries or for further training in college or certification
programs.
Students are recruited to participate in CPAs in ninth grade
and begin this coursework in tenth grade. In each year,
students will learn their regular rigorous coursework, such as
social studies, and English language arts and mathematics
aligned with the Common Core State Standards and the Career
Technical Education Model Curriculum Standards, as well as a
career technical education course aligned with the MC3. The
coursework will be designed to help students understand the
connection between what they learn in school and what they
will need to know for careers. The coursework will also meet
the "A-G" requirements for entry into college. Successful
students will receive a Certificate of Completion from the
North America's Building Trades Unions, which is a national
industry certification."
The sponsor argues that the MC3 provides a gateway to
postsecondary education and careers in any of the building and
construction trades from high school or community college to
joint industry registered apprenticeships. Therefore, this bill
requires the Board and each local board to ensure that
pre-apprenticeship training in the building and construction
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trades use the MC3.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT:
Supporters argue that this bill will expand on current efforts
to support women in the trades by requiring pre-apprenticeship
programs funded by WIOA dollars to create a plan for outreach,
recruitment and retention of women seeking a career in the
building trades. In addition, because pre-apprenticeship is a
useful tool to prepare prospective construction worker
apprentices for an apprenticeship program, this bill creates
uniform rules for success in pre-apprenticeship training. They
argue that the two parts of this bill each in different ways
help ensure that the building and construction trades are as
representative of society as possible.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Chapters of the National Electrical Contractors
Association
California Legislative Council of the Plumbing, Heating and
Piping Industry
Northern California Allied Trades and the Wall and Ceiling
Alliance
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State Building and Construction Trades Council of California
(sponsor)
United Contractors
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Ben Ebbink / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091