BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2726
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 21, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
Sandre Swanson, Chair
AB 2726 (Bonnie Lowenthal) - As Introduced: February 19, 2010
SUBJECT : Employment Development: one-stop career centers:
training apprenticeship.
SUMMARY : Allows apprenticeship programs approved by the
Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS) to be counted as job
placement and directs the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998
funds to DAS approved apprenticeships. Specifically, this bill :
1)Specifies that entrance into on-the-job training through an
apprenticeship program approved by DAS shall be considered
placement into a job.
2)Directs the State and local Workforce Investment Boards to
ensure that programs and services funded by WIA directed to
apprenticeable occupations, including preapprenticeship
training, are connected with one or more state-approved
apprenticeship program.
EXISTING FEDERAL LAW establishes the WIA of 1998, which requires
all states to form state workforce investment boards, and for
Governors to designate local workforce investment areas and
oversee local workforce investment boards. The WIA requires
that 85 percent of the federal funds appropriated to states go
to the local workforce investment boards, with the remainder
allocated for state discretionary purposes.
EXISTING STATE LAW :
1)Establishes the California Workforce Investment Board (CWIB),
and requires the CWIB to assist the Governor with promoting
the continuous development and oversight of a well-educated
and highly skilled workforce, and development of the State
Workforce Investment Plan.
2)Creates DAS, which administers the state's apprenticeship law
and enforces apprenticeship standards for wages, hours,
working conditions and the specific skills required for state
certification as a journey person in an apprenticeable
AB 2726
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occupation.
3)Establishes the California Apprenticeship Council (CAC) to set
policies for the DAS.
4)Requires employment of apprentices on all public works
projects.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : According to the author, "many WIA funded programs
for job training are not connected to the programs that provide
employment and training simultaneously. These WIA funded
programs compete with apprenticeship programs and are
subsidizing programs that often fail to connect participants to
clear career pathways to well paying middleclass jobs."
In general terms, apprenticeship is a program of instruction
that combines a formal course of theoretical in-class
instruction with practical "on-the-job" training. According to
the federal Office of Apprenticeship Training, Employment, and
Labor Services (OATELS), the purpose of a registered
apprenticeship program is to enable employers to develop and
apply industry standards to training program that can increase
productivity and improve the quality of the workforce.
In California, industries and employers voluntarily participate
in apprenticeship programs. The construction industry, for
example, accounts for 79 percent of the state's apprentices.
The total number of apprentices was on a rise between 2002 and
2005, increasing from 66,934 to 73,920 in that time frame. In
2006, however, the number fell to 68,502. Despite this decline,
however, California has more than half of the nation's 150,000
trade apprentices.
DAS promotes apprenticeship training through creation of
partnerships, consultants with program sponsors and monitors
programs to ensure high standards for one-the-job training and
supplemental classroom instruction. Completion certificates are
awarded to the graduates of the 611 currently active
apprenticeship programs in more than 500 occupations and are
recognized nationwide as portable industry credentials. In
addition, OATELS notes that adult learners with financial
obligations frequently are unable to stop working while they
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gain additional education or workforce. California's
apprenticeship programs provide individuals with an opportunity
to "earn and learn" in ways that are not available through other
employment opportunities.
WIA Funds
California's Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL) was
established in compliance with WIA to provide customer-focused
employment training for adults and dislocated workers.
Apprenticeship programs are counted among the training providers
who are eligible to receive Individual Training Accounts through
WIA Title I-B funds. According to the Employment Development
Department website, as of April 9, 2010, there are 13,190
approved programs (courses or combination of courses) that may
lead to employment and 71 state approved apprenticeship programs
on the ETPL.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
State Building and Construction Trades Council of California
(Sponsor)
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Shannon McKinley / L. & E. / (916)
319-2091