Title: Workforce Training

Summary: Requiring the Department of Education, in collaboration with the Department of Economic Opportunity, to identify and recommend specified apprenticeship programs; requiring the Department of Education, in collaboration with the Department of Economic Opportunity, to identify and recommend specified preapprenticeship programs, etc.

Full Text:
An act relating to workforce training; amending s. 446.021, F.S.; redefining terms; amending s. 446.032, F.S.; conforming a provision to changes made by the act; requiring the Department of Education, in collaboration with the Department of Economic Opportunity, to identify and recommend specified apprenticeship programs; requiring the department to annually submit an accountability report with specified requirements to the Governor, the Legislature, and the Higher Education Coordinating Council; requiring the department to post on its Internet website specified information regarding apprenticeship programs; amending s. 446.052, F.S.; requiring the Department of Education, in collaboration with the Department of Economic Opportunity, to identify and recommend specified preapprenticeship programs; requiring the department to annually submit an accountability report with specified content to the Governor, the Legislature, and the Higher Education Coordinating Council; requiring the department to post on its Internet website specified information regarding preapprenticeship programs; requiring the Department of Education, in collaboration with the Department of Economic Opportunity and CareerSource, Florida, Inc., to submit an operational report to the Governor, the Legislature, and the Higher Education Coordinating Council with specified information; amending s. 446.091, F.S.; conforming a provision to changes made by the act; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Subsections (2), (4), (5), and (6) of section 446.021, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 446.021 Definitions of terms used in ss. 446.011-446.092. As used in ss. 446.011-446.092, the term: (2) Apprentice  means a person at least years of age who is engaged in learning a recognized skilled trade through actual work experience under the supervision of journeyworker journeymen craftsmen, which training should be combined with properly coordinated studies of related technical and supplementary subjects, and who has entered into a written agreement, which may be cited as an apprentice agreement, with a registered apprenticeship sponsor who may be either an employer, an association of employers, or a local joint apprenticeship committee. (4)   Journeyworker   Journeyman  means a worker who has attained certain skill s, abilities,and competencies and who is recognized within an industry as having mastered the skills and competencies required for the occupation,including, but not limited to, attainment of a nationally recognized industry certification.The term includes a mentor, technician, specialist,or other skilled worker who has documented sufficient skills and knowledge of an occupation, through formal apprenticeship,attainment of a nationally recognized industry certification, or through practical,on-the-job experience or formal training a person working in an apprenticeable occupation who has successfully completed a registered apprenticeship program or who has worked the number of years required by established industry practices for the particular trade or occupation.(5) Preapprenticeship program  means an organized course of instruction,including, but not limited to, industry certifications identified under s. 1008.44, in the public school system or elsewhere, which course is designed to prepare a person years of age or older to become an apprentice and which course is approved by and registered with the department and sponsored by a registered apprenticeship program. (6) Apprenticeship program  means an organized course of instruction,including, but not limited to, industry certifications identified under s. 1008.44,registered and approved by the department, which course shall contain all terms and conditions for the qualifications, recruitment, selection, employment, and training of apprentices including such matters as the requirements for a written apprenticeship agreement. Section 2. Section 446.032, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 446.032 General duties of the department for apprenticeship training. The department shall: (1) Establish uniform minimum standards and policies governing apprentice programs and agreements. The standards and policies shall govern the terms and conditions of the apprentice s employment and training, including the quality training of the apprentice for, but not limited to, such matters as ratios of apprentices to journeyworkers journeymen,safety, related instruction, and on-the-job training; but these standards and policies may not include rules, standards, or guidelines that require the use of apprentices and job trainees on state, county, or municipal contracts. The department may adopt rules necessary to administer the standards and policies. (2) Establish procedures to be used by the State Apprenticeship Advisory Council. (3)  Collaborate with the Department of Economic Opportunity to identify, develop, and register apprenticeship programs that are aligned with statewide demand for a skilled labor force in high-demand occupations and with regional workforce needs. Beginning in the 2015-2016 fiscal year, the department shall annually, by December 31, submit an accountability report, which must include information related to program usage, student demographics and performance outcomes, and program requirements for the existing preapprenticeship and apprenticeship programs and the development of new programs. The report must include regional information about program and student performance outcomes. The report must be submitted to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Higher Education Coordinating Council. (4) Post on its Internet website information regarding apprenticeship programs, which must, at a minimum, include: (a) Program admission requirements; (b) Program standards and training requirements; and (c) A summary of program and student performance outcomes. Section 3. Subsections (5) and (6) are added to section 446.052, Florida Statutes, to read: 446.052 Preapprenticeship program.  (5)  The department shall collaborate with the Department of Economic Opportunity to identify, develop, and register preapprenticeship programs that are aligned with statewide demand for a skilled labor force in high-demand occupations and with regional workforce needs. Beginning in the 2015-2016 fiscal year, the department shall annually, by December 31, submit an accountability report, which must include information related to program usage, student demographics and performance outcomes, and program requirements for the existing preapprenticeship and apprenticeship programs and the development of new programs. The report must include regional information about program and student performance outcomes. The report must be submitted to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Higher Education Coordinating Council. (6) The department shall post on its Internet website information regarding preapprenticeship programs, which must, at a minimum, include: (a) Program admission requirements; (b) Program standards and training requirements; and (c) A summary of program and student performance outcomes. Section 4.  Preapprenticeship and apprenticeship operational report.   (1) By December 31, 2015, the Department of Education, in collaboration with the Department of Economic Opportunity and CareerSource Florida, Inc., shall submit an operational report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Higher Education Coordinating Council providing: (a) A summary of the activities and coordination between the two agencies to identify, develop, register, and administer preapprenticeship and apprenticeship programs over the last years. (b)   The strategies employed by the two agencies to engage school districts, Florida College System institutions, technical centers, businesses, and other stakeholders as partners in the workforce system to expand employment opportunities for individuals, including, but not limited to, those individuals with unique abilities, which must include work-based learning experiences, such as preapprenticeships and apprenticeships. (c) Recommendations to maximize the resources of the two agencies to gain efficiency in program development, administration, and funding and make program governance changes to improve the delivery and management of preapprenticeship and apprenticeship programs based on workforce demands. These recommendations must take into account federal resources and must include any necessary or suggested changes to the programs ensuing from implementation of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 and related regulations. (d) Recommendations and strategies for the two agencies to communicate effectively with employers in this state and ensure that employers have access to information and consultative services, at no cost to the employers, regarding sponsorship of demand-driven, registered preapprenticeship and apprenticeship programs and information about the availability of program students for employment. (e) An evaluation of the feasibility of linking or incorporating, and of the resources necessary to link or incorporate, the Department of Education s website information on preapprenticeship and apprenticeship programs with the Department of Economic Opportunity and CareerSource Florida, Inc., workforce information system required under chapter 445, Florida Statutes. (2) This section expires on July 1, 2016. Section 5. Section 446.091, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 446.091 On-the-job training program. All provisions of ss. 446.011-446.092 relating to apprenticeship and preapprenticeship, including, but not limited to, programs, agreements, standards, administration, procedures, definitions, expenditures, local committees, powers and duties, limitations, grievances, and ratios of apprentices and job trainees to journeyworkers journeymen on state, county, and municipal contracts, shall be appropriately adapted and made applicable to a program of on-the-job training authorized under those provisions for persons other than apprentices. Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.