ARTICLE 6. Youth Apprenticeship [3120. - 3122.4.]

Cal. Labor Code - LAB 6.

in effect

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 3120. Section 3120.

Youth apprenticeship shall be a key priority for the Division of Apprenticeship Standards. Youth apprenticeship will complement the state’s existing registered apprenticeship and preapprenticeship programs. The goals and objectives of the division in expanding youth apprenticeships shall include all of the following: (a) 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 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 preapprenticeship and apprenticeship programs targeting youth. (d) Increase the number of youth who complete a youth apprenticeship and matriculate to employment or continued higher education. (e) Coordinate with, complement, and enhance, existing preapprenticeship and apprenticeship programs.

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 3121. Section 3121.

(a) The Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards shall convene a committee to develop recommendations to the division on the expansion of youth apprenticeships in California. (b) The committee shall include representatives from youth, youth serving organizations, labor, employers of youth, K–12 schools, community colleges, and the public workforce system. (c) In developing these recommendations, the committee shall specifically address the following topics: (1) Clear definitions of youth apprenticeship and high school apprenticeships. (2) Guiding principles in the Youth Apprenticeship Grant Program administered by the division pursuant to Section 3122. (3) Insights on the structure of the state’s work to expand youth apprenticeship. (d) The committee shall provide a report to the division with a set of recommendations no later than July 1, 2024. (e) The Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards shall provide the report to the corresponding fiscal and policy committees of each house of the Legislature.

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 3122. Section 3122.

(a) The Youth Apprenticeship Grant Program is hereby established, to be administered by the division, for the purposes of awarding grant funds to eligible applicants to provide funding for existing apprenticeship and preapprenticeship programs or to develop new apprenticeship and preapprenticeship programs to serve the target population and satisfy the goals and objectives of the grant program as specified in this article. The grant program does not apply to building and construction trades programs that are within the jurisdiction of the council established pursuant to Section 3070. (b) Under the grant 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 grant program. (c) The division 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. (d) The division 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, apprenticeship program sponsors, and organizations who contract with employers, local educational agencies, community-based organizations, labor, and other workforce development stakeholders. (e) The division shall require that grant recipients demonstrate a commitment to high road principles, as described in subdivision (r) of Section 14005 of the Unemployment Insurance Code, and shall evaluate the performance of recipients based on those principles. (f) The division 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. (g) As used in this section, “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, 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. (h) The provisions of this section shall be implemented only upon appropriation of sufficient funds by the Legislature for that purpose.

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 3122.1. Section 3122.1.

Grant funds may be used for eligible purposes that include, but are not limited to: (a) Instruction and training of apprentices and preapprentices. (b) Costs related to registration, design, and setting up the apprenticeship or preapprenticeship 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.

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 3122.2. Section 3122.2.

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 subdivision (g) of 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, 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 division. (f) If the proposal requests funds for a firefighter apprenticeship program, the proposal shall meet the conditions specified in subdivision (b) of Section 3075. (g) If the proposal requests funds for a firefighter preapprenticeship program, the proposal shall be approved by the California Apprenticeship Council.

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 3122.3. Section 3122.3.

The Youth Apprenticeship Grant Program shall have an explicit focus on equity and aims to ensure that race, income, geography, gender, citizenship status, ability, and other demographics and student characteristics no longer predict the outcomes of California’s youth. To measure success towards that goal, the grant program shall do both of the following: (a) Require grant recipients to collect, analyze, and report program data on race, gender, income, rurality, ability, foster youth, homeless youth, English language learner, and other key characteristics. (b) Cross-tabulate demographic data with labor force participation data and enrollment data among the various demographic groups named above to assess parity in relation to the public K–12 high school, community college, and four-year university graduating cohort demographic distribution, comparing program completion rates with the attainment of educational degrees across groups.

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 3122.4. Section 3122.4.

(a) The division shall monitor and audit grant recipients to ensure compliance with policies, procedures, and requirements for use of the grant funds. Grant recipients shall provide necessary data to the division for purposes of evaluating achievement of the goals and objectives of the grant program. (b) Any grant recipient receiving funding pursuant to this article is subject to evaluation by the division under Section 3073.1. If the grant recipient is found to have violated the provisions of this chapter, those violations are deemed imputed to the associated apprenticeship program, and the division may take any appropriate action against that apprenticeship program. (c) If a program, the grant recipient, or other entity is found to be using Youth Apprenticeship Grant Program funds for purposes other than those for which the funds were granted or is found to have obtained the funds improperly, then the program, grant recipient, or other entity shall not be eligible to receive any grant program funds, and the division or entity authorized to provide funding shall cease providing funds.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026