BILL NUMBER: AB 1797INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Rodriguez FEBRUARY 18, 2014 An act to add Section 3073.7 to the Labor Code, relating to apprenticeship. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1797, as introduced, Rodriguez. Apprenticeship programs. Existing law provides for the establishment of apprenticeship programs in various trades, to be approved by the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards within the Department of Industrial Relations in any trade in the state or in a city or trade area whenever the apprentice training needs justify the establishment. Existing law establishes the California Apprenticeship Council, composed of 6 representatives of entities that sponsor apprenticeship programs, as prescribed, and of 2 representatives of the general public. The Director of Industrial Relations, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, or their designees, are also members of the council. The council aids the director in formulating policies relating to the effective administration of apprenticeship programs. The bill would require the division, in consultation with the California Workforce Investment Board, the State Department of Education, and representatives for the California Community College system, to establish and coordinate a stakeholders group that includes representatives of health care providers, employers or employer organizations, hospital systems, community clinics, patients, caregivers, and patient advocacy organizations. The bill would require the stakeholders group to identify opportunities for apprenticeships, identify and develop specific requirements and qualifications for entry into apprenticeships, establish standards for corresponding preapprenticeship skills training programs, and work with designated entities to identify, assess, and prepare a pool of qualified candidates seeking to enter apprenticeship. The bill would require the chief, on or before December 1, 2015, to prepare and submit to the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature a report on the findings and recommendations of the stakeholders group. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 3073.7 is added to the Labor Code, to read: 3073.7. (a) The Division of Apprenticeship Standards, in consultation with the California Workforce Investment Board, the State Department of Education, and representatives for the California Community College system, shall establish and coordinate a stakeholders group that includes representatives of health care providers, employers or employer organizations, hospital systems, community clinics, patients, caregivers, and patient advocacy organizations. The purposes of the stakeholders group are to identify the demand in health care professions and develop pathways for careers in health care professions, including, but not limited to, evaluating the feasibility of establishing an apprenticeship program in the health care professions where the demand for skills and training is the highest. (b) The stakeholders group shall do the following: (1) Collaborate with health industry organizations in the state to identify opportunities for apprenticeships that meet the industry's work-force demands and that are in high-wage, high-demand jobs. (2) Identify and develop specific requirements and qualifications for entry into apprenticeships and establish standards for corresponding preapprenticeship skills training programs that result in an industry-recognized credential certifying that the individual is ready to enter apprenticeship. (3) Work with the department, the California Community College system, school districts, One-Stop Career Centers, local workforce investment boards, and other appropriate partners to identify, assess, and prepare a pool of qualified candidates seeking to enter apprenticeship. (c) (1) The Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, on or before December 1, 2015, shall prepare and submit to the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature a report on the findings and recommendations of the stakeholders group. (2) The requirement for submitting a report imposed pursuant to this subdivision is inoperative on January 1, 2019, pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code. (3) A report to be submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.