Regional business training center network: pilot project.

Existing law establishes the Employment Training Panel within the Employment Development Department. Under existing law, the panel is charged with performing various duties, including establishing a 3-year plan based on the demand of employers for trained workers, changes in the state's economy and labor markets, and continuous reviews of the effectiveness of panel training contracts. Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges Economic and Workforce Development Program with the purpose of, among other things, using labor market information to advise the chancellor's office and regional community college bodies on the workforce needs of the state's competitive and emerging industry sectors, and collaborating and coordinating investment with other state, regional, or local agencies involved in education and workforce training in California. Existing law authorizes the governing board of any community college district to contract education programs by agreement with any public or private agency, corporation, association, or any other person or body, to provide specific educational programs or training to meet the specific needs of those bodies. This bill, upon appropriation by the Legislature, would require the Employment Training Panel to establish a pilot project to enhance the regionally focused statewide business training center network of community college contract education centers to partner with other assistance providers serving small businesses. The bill would authorize the pilot project to be guided through a partnership with the Employment Training Panel, including the California Community Colleges, the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, and the California Workforce Development Board. This bill would state that the purpose of the pilot project is to support the enhancement of a regionally focused statewide network of at least 10 regional business training centers, and their subcontracted community college partners, to support the upskilling of the regional workforce to meet the demand for jobs in essential industry sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the emerging and dominant industry sectors in the post COVID-19 economy, and to strengthen the capacity of a region's small business service providers to meet the demands being placed upon it by the COVID-19 pandemic, as specified. The bill would require community colleges participating in the pilot project to offer short-term training programs that assist displaced and incumbent workers in obtaining the skills necessary to work within essential, emerging, and dominant industry sectors, as specified. The bill would authorize the Employment Training Panel, and its partners, to establish an advisory board of businesses, workforces, and economic development stakeholders to provide advice and to review the pilot project. The bill would require the Employment Training Panel to submit 2 annual reports on the activities of the pilot project and a final report that includes an overall summary of the activities of the pilot project and an assessment of the effectiveness of the pilot project, as specified. The bill would repeal these provisions January 1, 2025.