BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
Senator Ben Hueso, Chair
Date of Hearing: June 11, 2014 2013-2014 Regular
Session
Consultant: Alma Perez-Schwab Fiscal:Yes
Urgency: No
Bill No: AB 1797
Author: Rodriguez
As Introduced/Amended: June 4, 2014
SUBJECT
California Workforce Investment Board
KEY ISSUES
Should the Legislature require the California Workforce
Investment Board (CWIB) to identify opportunities for job
training that expand employment in the allied health
professions?
Should the CWIB be required to identify "earn and learn" job
training models, develop standards for these programs and
require that participants graduate with a credential certifying
that he/she is trained to enter the allied health professions?
ANALYSIS
The federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 provides
funding for activities and programs for job training and
employment investment in which states may participate, including
work incentive and employment training outreach programs.
Following passage of the federal WIA, the state established the
California Workforce Investment Board (CWIB) and charged the
board with the responsibility of developing a unified, strategic
planning process to coordinate various education, training, and
employment programs into an integrated workforce development
system. There are 49 Local WIBs and within each local workforce
area there are one or more One-Stop Centers, which provide
access to career information, counseling, funding for education,
training and supportive services.
Among its responsibilities, the State Board must establish
criteria for development of 1) the formula to be used for
allocating funds to the local areas, 2) dissemination of the
Governor's 15% WIA discretionary funding, and 3) certification
and re-certification of local WIBs. Additionally, the State
Board works closely with Governor's Office of Business and
Economic Development (GO-Biz) to identify the needs of industry
and to create career pathways that provide businesses with the
skilled workforce they need while putting unemployed and
underemployed Californians back to work. The State Board engages
State and local workforce, education, and economic development
partners in this critical work through its Special Committees
which include the Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Development
Council, the Health Workforce Development Council, and the Green
Collar Jobs Council.
This Bill would require the California Workforce Investment
Board (CWIB), in consultation with the Division of
Apprenticeship Standards (DAS), to conduct specified activities
related to expanding job training and employment for allied
health professions. Specifically, this bill:
1) Requires the CWIB, in consultation with the DAS, to do
the following:
a) 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.
b) Identify and develop specific requirements and
qualifications for entry into "earn and learn" job
training models.
c) Establish standards for "earn and learn" job
training programs that are outcome oriented and
accountable, including a measurement of participants
completing the program with an industry-recognized
credential certifying that he/she is ready to enter the
specific allied health profession for which he/she has
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Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
been trained.
d) Develop means to identify, assess, and prepare a
pool of qualified candidates seeking to enter "earn and
learn" job training models.
2) Requires the CWIB to prepare and submit to the
appropriate policy committees of the Legislature a report
on its findings and recommendations on or before December
1, 2015.
COMMENTS
1. What are "Earn and Learn" Job Training Programs?
Training programs that connect individuals with new employment
opportunities through on-the-job training and education,
allowing workers to earn a paycheck while developing the
skills necessary to transform short-term jobs into longer
career pathways, are commonly referred to as "earn and learn"
models. Samples of these training models include subsidized
employment under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
(TANF) emergency fund, Summer Youth Employment Programs under
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, on-the-job
training through programs under the Workforce Investment Act,
and apprenticeship programs currently administered by the
Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS) within the
Department of Industrial Relations.
According to the Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS),
their goal is to create opportunities for Californians to gain
employable lifetime skills and provide employers with a highly
skilled and experienced workforce while strengthening
California's economy. DAS carries out this mission by
administering California apprenticeship law and enforcing
apprenticeship standards for wages, hours, working conditions
and the specific skills required for state certification in an
apprenticeable occupation. DAS promotes apprenticeship
training through creation of partnerships, consults with
program sponsors and monitors programs to ensure high
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standards for on-the-job training and supplemental classroom
instruction. Through this effort, the retiring skilled
workforce is replenished with new skilled workers to keep
California's economic engine running strong.
2. The CWIB Health and Workforce Development Council:
The California Workforce Investment Board has already been
looking at ways to address health workforce needs for some
time. In order to proactively address emerging health
workforce challenges, in August 2010, the CWIB established the
Health Workforce Development Council (Council) as a
subcommittee of the State Board. The Council is tasked with
understanding the current and future workforce needs of the
health industry and with developing a comprehensive strategy
to prepare California's workforce to meet those needs.
The Council engages a broad range of public and private
stakeholders to achieve its mission of helping to expand
California's health workforce in order to provide access to
quality healthcare for all Californians. A core goal is to
expand California's full-time primary care workforce by 10 to
25 percent over the next ten years. To support the process,
the CWIB in concert with Office of Statewide Health and
Planning Development (OSHPD), secured a federal health
workforce planning grant from the Health Resources and
Services Administration.
3. California's Current and Future Healthcare Workforce Needs:
California has been experiencing statewide and regional
shortages in many critical health professions. Healthcare
reform implementation and other key trends, such as growth and
an aging population, will exacerbate these challenges.
According to a recent report, "Report on Health Workforce
Development Needs: Findings and Recommendations," issued by
the Health Workforce Development Council and prepared in
partnership with the California Health Workforce Alliance in
March 2013, there is an urgent and important need for
California to expand its health workforce capacity to achieve
the goals of healthcare reform and meet the health needs of
its growing, increasingly diverse and aging population.
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This 2013 report made the following key findings:
California does not have sufficient capacity in many
key professions and regions to meet current and future
health workforce needs. Primary care being one of the
greatest concerns.
Underserved urban and rural areas and health safety
net providers face significant supply and distribution
challenges; particularly in primary care and other
professions that are critical to health access, quality,
outcomes and cost. Significant growth in population and
those insured are expected in these areas and there are
many barriers to recruitment, retention and training.
The diversity and language capabilities of the
health workforce and health professions students do not
reflect emerging populations and needs. Funding for
proven programs to address this is being reduced at a
time when the need is growing.
Educational capacity is already insufficient in many
key health professions and in associated pre-requisite
courses and has been further restricted by cuts to
education.
Rising costs of education and health professions
training are becoming barriers to graduates going into
needed professions, such as primary care, and underserved
geographic areas.
New health population health and delivery models and
use of technology offer the opportunities to use health
workforce more productively and for better outcomes.
Investment in and coordination of statewide and
regional infrastructure and data is needed to develop,
implement and achieve innovations in health workforce and
adjust to changing needs.
4. Need for this bill?
According to a December 2012 white paper, "Apprenticeship as a
Critical Component of an 'Earn and Learn' Job Training
Strategy in California," produced on behalf of the CWIB by an
Interagency Working Group, the recent economic downturn has
caused high levels of unemployment in all sectors of
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California's economy, but youth, minorities, veterans and
low-skilled adult workers have disproportionately borne the
brunt of the economic crisis and require support as they seek
to enter the workforce.
The white paper noted that "earn and learn" training models
offer great opportunities to address the needs of these
populations. According to the report, "One such model, formal
stateregistered Apprenticeship, is a time-tested, onthejob,
training and education delivery system and is an essential
component of Californias economic growth. Studies have shown
that investment in apprenticeship programs provides a positive
return for employers, apprentices, government, and society.
Unfortunately, budgetary restraints have limited training
opportunities in the health professions field.
In response to the positive outcomes of "earn and learn"
training programs, the author has introduced this bill to
require the California Workforce Investment Board (CWIB), in
consultation with the Division of Apprenticeship Standards
(DAS), to conduct specified activities related to expanding
"earn and learn" job training and employment opportunities for
allied health professions in California.
5. Proponent Arguments :
According to the author, the demand for healthcare workers in
the United States has remained high for many years, growing at
a rate faster than the overall employment rate for the past
fifty years. The U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Bureau of
Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that of the twenty industries
projected to gain the most jobs between 2008 and 2018, five of
those industries relate to health care: (1) offices of
physicians (772,000 new jobs); (2) home health care services
(441,000); (3) services for the elderly and persons with
disabilities (431,000); (4) nursing care facilities
(394,000); and (5) offices of dentists (233,000)
The author states that currently, health care providers face a
range of employment and workforce issues. According to a
recently published survey by the California Hospital
Association, California's hospitals could need more than one
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million new allied health professionals by 2030. An aging
population, population growth, and federal health reform will
likely contribute to the increased demand. Unfortunately, the
author argues, employers want to recruit qualified candidates
but are not finding candidates who are adequately prepared.
According to proponents, "earn and learn" job training
programs (including apprenticeships) have been increasingly
recognized as a highly effective workforce strategy for
building skills and earnings in entry- and middle-level jobs,
for increasing productivity and for aligning employer demands
with the supply of workers for this critical industry. They
argue that these programs provide the flexibility students
need to acquire knowledge and skills while earning a living,
and can also provide the greatly needed bridge that connects
workers with employers. The author aims to address this
critical workforce need by requiring the California Workforce
Investment Board, in consultation with the Division of
Apprenticeship Standards, to identify "earn and learn" job
training models in the allied health care professions and
report its findings and recommendations to the Legislature.
6. Opponent Arguments :
None received.
SUPPORT
California State Council of the Service Employees International
Union
OPPOSITION
None received
Hearing Date: June 11, 2014 AB 1797
Consultant: Alma Perez-Schwab Page 7
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
Hearing Date: June 11, 2014 AB 1797
Consultant: Alma Perez-Schwab Page 8
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations