California Workforce Development Board: model career pathways.

Existing law establishes the California Workforce Development Board for purposes of assisting the Governor in, among other things, promoting the development of a well-educated and highly skilled 21st century workforce and the development of a high road economy that offers an educated and skilled workforce with fair compensation and treatment in the workplace, and developing standards, procedures, and criteria for defining high road employers, high road jobs, high road workforce development, and high road training partnerships, as specified. Existing law provides that the workforce investment system shall be guided by, among other things, making programs and services accessible to individuals with employment barriers, such as persons with economic, physical, or other barriers to employment, and the adoption of local and regional training and education strategies which include workplace-based earn and learn programs. This bill would, until March 1, 2026, require the board to facilitate the development of a series of model career pathways that build upon the basic skill sets of workers who are employed in essential worker occupations, as defined, to support their career advancement into high road occupations. The bill would require the board to, among other things, include earn and learn programs where appropriate in model career pathways, consider how model career pathways may be accessed by essential workers who meet the conditions of being individuals with employment barriers, and encourage collaboration and engagement by and with various other state and local partners. The bill would require the board to publish, no later than May 1, 2023, a list of at least the first four essential worker occupations from which model career pathways will be developed. The bill would require, starting no later than July 1, 2023, and every six months thereafter, the board to include information on the progress of the model career pathways on the agenda of the regularly scheduled meeting of the board. The bill would require written notice be provided to the Legislature at least 15 calendar days prior to that board meeting, and then distributed by the Chief Clerk of the Assembly and the Secretary of the Senate, as specified.