Adds to existing law to establish apprenticeship programs for certain occupations.

Apprenticeships are an important and growing part of our state’s workforce development efforts. New flexibility from the federal government further highlights the opportunity to encourage more employers to offer apprenticeships to Idaho’s youth. This bill establishes a new opportunity for employers who offer apprenticeships and people who are getting licensure through an apprenticeship. The bill builds on existing resources at the Department of Labor to offer assessment and training on skills that compliment what a person learns in an apprenticeship. The apprenticeship makes sure that the candidate has the industry skills, and this makes sure that the candidate has workplace readiness skills to go along with his or her industry knowledge. The new resources would include assessments of workplace readiness skills and career aptitude, as well as training of soft skills such as punctuality, ability to learn and ability to work in a team. Upon completion of the assessments and training, an apprentice would be able to earn a certification to show workplace readiness.