Bill Text: CA SB1351 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: California Youth Apprenticeship Program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-08-11 - August 11 hearing: Held in committee and under submission. [SB1351 Detail]
Download: California-2021-SB1351-Amended.html
|
Amended
IN
Senate
May 19, 2022 |
|
Amended
IN
Senate
March 15, 2022 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION
Senate Bill
No. 1351
| Introduced by Senator Durazo (Coauthor: Senator Newman) |
February 18, 2022 |
An act to add Article 5 (commencing with Section 3120) to Chapter 4 of Division 3 of the Labor Code, relating to apprenticeship programs.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1351, as amended, Durazo.
California Youth Apprenticeship Program.
Existing law establishes within the Department of Industrial Relations the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, under the direction of the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, to administer and enforce laws relating to apprenticeships, including evaluating and approving apprenticeship programs.
This bill would establish the California Youth Apprenticeship Program for the purpose of awarding grant funds to eligible applicants to provide funding for existing apprenticeship and preapprenticeship programs or to develop new apprenticeship programs or expand existing apprenticeship programs to serve a specified target population. The bill would
define “target population” as individuals from 16 to 24 years of age who are at risk of disconnection or are disconnected from the education system or employment, unhoused, in the child welfare, juvenile justice, or criminal justice system, live in concentrated poverty, or face barriers to labor market participation, among other criteria. The bill would establish the Office of the California Youth Apprenticeship Program within the Division of Apprenticeship Standards to administer the program. The
This bill would require the office
office, among other things, to coordinate with, complement, and enhance existing preapprenticeship and apprenticeship programs and to solicit proposals and select grant recipients from eligible applicants, including, among others, county offices of education, regional consortia of community college districts, and local intermediaries. The bill would specify information required to be included in a grant proposal and would specify eligible purposes for use of grant funds. The bill would require the office to complete planning to implement the program by October 31, 2023, and would require the office to begin soliciting grant proposals by March 31, 2024. The
This bill
would require the office to monitor grant recipients for compliance and would require grant recipients to provide necessary data to the office for purposes of evaluating achievement of the goals and objectives of the program. The bill would provide that the program shall be implemented only if funds are appropriated by the Legislature for purposes of the program. The bill would state various findings and declarations of the Legislature relating to apprenticeships.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares as follows:(a) Every young person in California should have multiple pathways toward economic self-sufficiency and fulfillment.
(b) It is in the state’s best interests to establish a set of systems and a policy framework which facilitates early opportunities to explore careers with industry involvement from employers and labor while being connected to learning that supports building relevant skills and competencies.
(c) Creating a career connected learning system that is industry driven and
youth centered is essential to the social and economic goals of the state to ensure an equitable and thriving economy in which all can participate and prosper.
(d) The goals of a career connected learning system are to support youth in career exploration, career preparation, career acceleration through dual enrollment, training, and postsecondary strategies, and career launch.
(e) Preparing young people for real world employer-based learning opportunities increases their self-sufficiency and fulfillment, can lead to more youth advancing beyond high school with a degree or credential, and improves the state’s economy.
(f) In 2018, Governor Newsom declared a commitment to ensuring California reaches 500,000 apprentices by
2029.
(g) Registered apprenticeships are the lynchpin to a career-connected learning system and can lead to higher earnings for participants. Estimates suggest that those completing apprenticeships can earn on average $300,000 more over the course of their careers compared to those who did not complete an apprenticeship.
(h) The increases in earnings cited above are in large part due to their connection to established labor-management partnerships, and being an apprentice alone does not automatically translate to better career pathways.
(i) California’s Future of Work Commission found that while the probability of low-wage employment is reduced by 33 percent if a worker has a college degree, it is reduced by 39 percent
if a worker is a member of a union.
(j) The youth unemployment rate tends to be much higher than for older workers. In December of 2021, 16 percent of youth ages 16 to 19 years of age and 11 percent of youth ages 20 to 24 were unemployed in California, during that same period, the unemployment rate for people aged 25 to 64 years of age was 6.5 percent.
(k) The apprenticeship model is important in tracing what is known and what is able to be performed in the workplace, and how capabilities may positively impact employment training, which in turn should impact employment outcomes.
(l) In California, the average age of apprentices and preapprentices continues to climb, a trend that highlights the limits of our
current system to engage and support youth.
(m) In many instances, California lacks the programmatic infrastructure and flexibility required to allow youth to enter into emerging and growth industries, even during a thriving economy.
(n) California has an opportunity to expand access to union jobs for youth and younger workers to quality union jobs and careers through apprenticeships. The silver tsunami in many of California’s most important sectors means employers and public agencies need to incorporate high road
high-road partnerships with youth apprenticeships as a central component of their workforce and talent pipeline strategy.
(o) Apprenticeships and other high road high-road partnerships build succession road maps and enable knowledge transfer. A formal apprenticeship becomes a plan to avoid losing decades of experience, and important components, such as mentorship through on the job on-the-job learning, are examples of how to foster this knowledge transfer.
(p) For every youth to succeed, California must focus on youth furthest from opportunity, those facing persistent educational opportunity gaps, especially students of color, Indigenous students, low-income students, rural students, students with disabilities, and system-impacted youth, including those youths who are at risk of disconnection or are disconnected from the education system or employment and those unhoused or in the child welfare and juvenile justice
welfare, juvenile justice, or criminal legal systems.
(q) A recent study from the University of Chicago found that from 2000 to 2015, economic segregation in schools has worsened, particularly in districts like Los Angeles, and as a result has widened the achievement gap for youth of color living in deeply segregated neighborhoods of concentrated poverty.
(r) The aforementioned issues are the result of systemic racism which limits opportunities for youth, especially youth from Black and Indigenous families. Any system for career connected learning must aspire to reverse these historic inequities.
(s) For participating youth, wraparound support services and the engagement of families,
caregivers, and youth serving community-based organizations and support networks are critical and essential. This is evident from model programming in Wisconsin, Washington State, Colorado, North Carolina, and elsewhere.
(t) Establishing pipelines for youth to enter growth industries for on-the-job training that allows them to earn and learn is a proven practice that can transform their participation in the labor force fostering economic security and prosperity as well as strengthening the sustainability of the overall economy.
(u) The State Department of Education, the Chancellor’s Office of the California Community Colleges, the Foundation for California Community Colleges, the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, the California Workforce Development Board, the
Employment Training Panel, and the Division of Apprenticeship Standards are all critical stakeholders in supporting and advancing the California Youth Apprenticeship Program.
(v) Career Connect Washington, CareerWise Colorado, ApprenticeshipNC, and Youth Apprenticeship Wisconsin Wisconsin, and Iowa Youth Apprenticeship Program are national models for youth programming and include partnerships between their department of education, the community college system, the workforce development agency, businesses, and labor.
SEC. 2.
Article 5 (commencing with Section 3120) is added to Chapter 4 of Division 3 of the Labor Code, to read:Article 5. California Youth Apprenticeship Program
3120.
(a) The California Youth Apprenticeship Program is hereby established, to be administered by the Office of the California Youth Apprenticeship Program, for the purposes of awarding grant funds to eligible applicants to provide funding for existing apprenticeship and preapprenticeship programs or to develop new apprenticeship programs(b) This program is intended to compliment and expand preapprenticeship and apprenticeship programs and not supplant them.
3121.
The Office of the California Youth Apprenticeship Program is hereby created within the Division of Apprenticeship Standards to administer the program. The office shall be under the direction of the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards or their designee.3122.
For purposes of this article:(a) “Office” means the Office of the California Youth Apprenticeship Program.
(b) “Program” means the California Youth Apprenticeship Program.
(c) “Target population” includes individuals from 16 to 24 years of age who are at risk of disconnection or are disconnected from the education system or employment, unhoused, in the child welfare or juvenile justice system or criminal justice system,
welfare, juvenile justice, or criminal legal systems, living in concentrated poverty, or are facing barriers to labor market participation. “Target population” includes youth who face chronic opportunity educational achievement gaps, attend schools in communities of concentrated poverty, or attend high schools with a negative school climate indicated by factors, including, but not limited to:
(1) School attendance rates.
(2) Chronic absenteeism and truancy rates.
(3) Dropout rates and low graduation rates.
(4) Proficiency scores in English language arts and mathematics.
(5) Pupil suspension and expulsion rates.
3123.
The goals and objectives of the program include all of the following:(a) Increase the number of community colleges and local educational agencies offering youth apprenticeship programs. Create a framework for youth apprenticeship, increase the number of apprenticeship pathways for youth, and foster coordination and alignment across career-connected learning programs.
(b) Increase the number of youth enrolled in and completing postsecondary degree or certificate programs.
community colleges and local education agencies offering youth apprenticeship programs, and increase the number of youth who complete certificate and degree programs.
(c) Increase the number of youth enrolled in youth apprenticeship programs. preapprenticeship and apprenticeship programs targeting youth, and increase the number of youth who complete a youth apprenticeship and matriculate to preapprenticeship or apprenticeship programs.
(d) Increase the number of individuals matriculating from youth apprenticeship programs into preapprenticeship or apprenticeship programs and choosing careers in the
industry of the youth apprenticeship.
(a)The
3124.
(a) The office shall coordinate with, complement, and enhance existing preapprenticeship and apprenticeship programs.(b) The office shall not replace existing preapprenticeship and apprenticeship programs.(c) Under the program, services shall be delivered principally through
collaborative, mission-driven, community-based organizations with experience in providing services to, and with relevant relationships with, targeted populations, consistent with the objectives of the program.(d) The office shall consult with and seek feedback from state agencies during the planning process to ensure grant funds awarded under the program leverage and complement existing grant programs.
(e) The office shall solicit proposals and select grant recipients from eligible applicants, including local educational agencies,
county offices of education, regional consortia of community college districts, local intermediaries, regional and local workforce development boards and apprenticeship program sponsors, who shall contract with employers, local educational agencies, community-based organizations, and other workforce development stakeholders. and people or organizations who contract with employers, local educational agencies, community-based organizations, labor, and other workforce development stakeholders.
(b)
(f) The office shall complete the planning process to implement the program by October 31, 2023, and shall begin soliciting grant proposals no later than March 31, 2024.
3125.
Grant funds may be used for eligible purposes that include, but are not limited to:(a) Instruction and training of apprentices.
(b) Costs related to registration, design, and setting up the apprenticeship program or curriculum.
(c) Project and case management.
(d) Related instruction costs.
(e) Education or training equipment, uniforms, tools, graduation fees, and union fees.
(f) Mental health services, trauma-informed care, and wraparound support services, including child or dependent care.
3126.
The grant proposal shall include, but is not limited to, the following information:(a) Knowledge, experience, and capacity to provide services to the target population.
(b) Industries and career pathways targeted.
(c) Target population that will be served. “Target population” includes individuals from 16 to 24 years of age who are facing educational achievement gaps, attending schools in communities of concentrated poverty, or attending high schools with a negative school climate, as specified in Section 3122, as well as youth who are
at risk of disconnection or are disconnected from the education system or employment, unhoused, in the child welfare
or juvenile justice system, welfare, juvenile justice, or criminal legal systems, living in concentrated poverty, or are facing barriers to labor market participation.
(d) How project goals and objectives will be achieved.
(e) Other requirements as specified by the office by regulation.
(f) If the proposal requests funds for an apprenticeship program in the building and construction trades, a demonstration that there is a need for the program by satisfying a condition specified in subdivision (b) of Section 3075.
