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. The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(a) California's economy is being challenged by competition from
other states and overseas. In order to meet this challenge,
California's employers, workers, labor organizations, and government
need to invest in a skilled and productive workforce, and in
developing the skills of frontline workers. For purposes of this
section, "frontline worker" means a worker who directly produces or
delivers goods or services.
The purpose of this chapter is to establish a strategically
designed employment training program to promote a healthy labor
market in a growing, competitive economy that shall fund only
projects that meet the following criteria:
(1) Foster creation of high-wage, high-skilled jobs, or foster
retention of high-wage, high-skilled jobs in manufacturing and other
industries that are threatened by out-of-state and global
competition, including, but not limited to, those industries in which
targeted training resources for California's small and medium-sized
business suppliers will increase the state's competitiveness to
secure federal, private sector, and other nonstate funds. In
addition, provide for retraining contracts in companies that make a
monetary or in-kind contribution to the funded training enhancements.
(2) Encourage industry-based investment in human resources
development that promotes the competitiveness of California industry
through productivity and product quality enhancements.
(3) Result in secure jobs for those who successfully complete
training. All training shall be customized to the specific
requirements of one or more employers or a discrete industry and
shall include general skills that trainees can use in the future.
(4) Supplement, rather than displace, funds available through
existing programs conducted by employers and government-funded
training programs, such as the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29
U.S.C. Sec. 2801 et seq.), the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education
Act (Public Law 98-524), CalWORKs (Chapter 2 (commencing with Section
11200) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code), the Enterprise Zone Act (Chapter 12.8 (commencing with Section
7070) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code), and the
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11301 et
seq.), the California Community Colleges Economic Development
Program, or apportionment funds allocated to the community colleges,
regional occupational centers and programs, or other local
educational agencies. In addition, it is further the intention of the
Legislature that programs developed pursuant to this chapter shall
not replace, parallel, supplant, compete with, or duplicate in any
way already existing approved apprenticeship programs.
(b) The Employment Training Panel, in funding projects that meet
the requirements of subdivision (a), shall give funding priority to
those projects that best meet the following goals:
(1) Result in the growth of the California economy by stimulating
exports from the state and the production of goods and services that
would otherwise be imported from outside the state.
(2) Train new employees of firms locating or expanding in the
state that provide high-skilled, high-wage jobs and are committed to
an ongoing investment in the training of frontline workers.
(3) Develop workers with skills that prepare them for the
challenges of a high performance workplace of the future.
(4) Train workers who have been displaced, have received
notification of impending layoff, or are subject to displacement,
because of a plant closure, workforce reduction, changes in
technology, or significantly increasing levels of international and
out-of-state competition.
(5) Are jointly developed by business management and worker
representatives.
(6) Develop career ladders for workers.
(7) Promote the retention and expansion of the state's
manufacturing workforce.
(c) The program established through this chapter is to be
coordinated with all existing employment training programs and
economic development programs, including, but not limited to,
programs such as the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. Sec.
2801 et seq.), the California Community Colleges, the regional
occupational programs, vocational education programs, joint
labor-management training programs, and related programs under the
Employment Development Department and the Governor's Office of
Business and Economic Development, and the Business, Consumer
Services, and Housing Agency.