BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 554
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Date of Hearing: April 13, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
Sandre Swanson, Chair
AB 554 (Atkins) - As Introduced: February 16, 2011
SUBJECT : Employment: workforce services.
SUMMARY : This bill requires local workforce investment boards
(WIBs) to coordinate programs and services funded by the
Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), and approved by the
Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS), with community
colleges to provide pre-apprenticeship training. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Requires the California Workforce Investment Board (CWIB) to
ensure that programs and services funded by WIA and directed
to apprenticeable occupations, including preapprenticeship
training, are conducted to the maximum extend feasible,
coordinate with apprenticeship programs approved by DAS.
2)Requires CWIB and all local WIBs to collaborate with community
colleges and approved apprenticeship programs in their
respective geographic areas to provide pre-apprenticeship
training, apprenticeship training, and continuing education in
apprenticeable occupations through approved apprenticeship
programs.
EXISTING FEDERAL LAW : establishes the Workforce Investment Act
of 1998 (WIA), 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.
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 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.
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2)Creates DAS, within the California Department of Industrial
Relations (DIR), to administer the state's apprenticeship laws
and enforced apprenticeship standards for wages, hours,
working conditions and the specific skills required for state
certification as a journey person in an apprenticeable
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 :
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 programs that can increase
productivity and improve the quality of the workforce.
DAS notes that apprenticeship programs operate under training
standards that are agreed to by labor and/or management in
accordance with state and federal laws. Under these programs, an
apprentice works with a skilled worker and gains on the job
skills and "know-how" and in turn becomes an important part of
the occupation and industry. DAS states that those crafts in
which management and labor organizations exist, each selects an
equal number of members to serve on the joint apprenticeship
committee. The joint apprenticeship committee determines the
standards for training of its occupation and supervises the
training of apprentices.
According to DAS, in many cases, the local apprenticeship
committees have guidelines in the form of national and/or
statewide standards recommended by the advisory organizations.
But these are minimums and the local groups usually have
complete autonomy in developing and administering their own
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programs.
California's Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL) was
established to comply with WIA requirements 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 7, 2011,
there are 14,517 approved programs (courses or combination of
courses) that may lead to employment and 84 state approved
apprenticeship programs on the ETPL.
According to the author, pre-apprenticeship, "green construction
training," and other local training programs funded by WIA
dollars fail to connect youth and adult participants to actual
pathways to journeyperson certifications through state approved
apprenticeship programs. The author notes that, to address this
disconnect, WIA funded training in apprenticeable occupations
must be formally connected with one or more state approved
apprenticeship programs. The author asserts that this will
establish critical connections with apprenticeship programs and
other labor-management training partnerships in growth sectors
maximizing the public investment in workforce development.
A report from the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment
at the University of California, Berkeley, titled "California
Workforce Education and Training Needs Assessment: For Energy
Efficiency, Distributed Generation and Demand Response," (UCB
Report) California's workforce development system is extensive
but fragmented. The UCB Report notes that there is limited
coordination among WIBs, community colleges, apprenticeship
programs, and other training and educations agencies. The
report asserts that the WIA system is currently driven by a
"work first" mandate, with the bulk of resources going to the
One-Stop Career Centers to help job seekers find a job quickly,
rather than investing in training.
In addition, the UCB Report states that WIA's limited resources
are being funneled through individual training vouchers instead
of facilitating training and education infrastructure planning
and development. The UCB Report notes that community colleges
alone have the most post-secondary training programs, though
they do not always have value in the market because of the lack
of clear industry-recognized certifications in many occupations.
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Therefore, the UCB Report recommends system-wide collaboration
between the state's community colleges and apprenticeship
programs at the pre-apprenticeship, apprenticeship and
continuing education levels.
A report from the Center on Policy Initiatives (CPI Report)
titled "Construction Apprenticeship Program: Career Training for
California's Recovery," asserts that apprenticeship is a key
step in a comprehensive career pathway that links job seekers,
employers, community organizations, educational institutions and
the workforce development system community-based organizations.
RELATED AND PRIOR LEGISLATION :
AB 2726 (B. Lowenthal) of 2010 would have allowed apprenticeship
programs approved by DAS to be counted as job placement and
directed WIA funds to DAS approved apprentice occupations. AB
2726 was vetoed by the Governor. In his veto message, the
Governor wrote that the bill was unnecessary because it would
duplicate CWIB's existing efforts.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT :
In a letter expressing their sponsorship of AB 554, the State
Building and Construction Trades Council of California (SBCTCC)
writes that too many local WIBs offering construction relating
training are not connected to state approved apprenticeship,
which provides employment and training simultaneously. SBCTCC
notes that, as a result, these subsidies often fail to connect
participants to pathways to well-paying middleclass careers in
construction. They assert that this bill will establish critical
connections with apprenticeship programs and other
labor-management training partnerships in growth sectors in
order to make the most of taxpayer investment in workforce
development.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
State Building and Construction Trades Council of California
(Sponsor)
Opposition
AB 554
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None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Shannon McKinley / L. & E. / (916)
319-2091