Apprenticeship Alabama (AA) Public-Private Partnership

ALSDE (Alabama State Department of Education) – Josh Laney

Central 6 Regional Council – Antiqua Cleggett

NFIB (National Federation of Independent Businesses) – Rosemary Elebash

WDD (Workforce Development Division) – Bill Hornsby, Mickey Hutto

AA (Apprenticeship Alabama) – Frank Chestnut, Jessica Falls, Patsy Richards

Greetings/Introduction of Partners – Patsy

Apprenticeship Alabama Update

ü Review for Correction Previous Group Minutes - Patsy

o No requests were made.

ü AA Expansion Goals discussed - Patsy

o Currently at 3900

o Plans to expand to 6000 in 5 years

ü AA Policy and Procedures – Frank

o Frank: Ed had a legislative encounter a few days ago. It was decided that we will only be able to work with companies that are creating or expanding their program. I was hoping we would be able to reward companies who already have apprentices but we will not be able to do so.

o Mickey Hutto: Can a company with 5 apprentices in 2017 refill their apprentice spots the following year? For example, if you had 5 employees, would you have to hire 5 additional employees and have a total of 10 employees in order to get tax credit? Can you roll over months into the next year and get the tax credit for that year.

§ Frank’s: The deadline to register and be eligible to get the tax credit is May 31st. For instance, if you start in August 2017 you would not be able to get the tax credit for the 2017 taxable year. You would be eligible for the 2018 taxable year.

o Patsy: Apprenticeship Alabama’s core objective is to expand Registered Apprenticeships.

§ SB90 (Tax Credit) is one of the incentives AA has to accomplish its core objective

· Incentivize companies to create new RAs or expand existing RAs.

WIOA Working Group

ü WIOA related information and questions – Mickey Hutto

o Mickey: You must be on the WIOA eligible training provider list (Ex. youth specific criteria, low income, lack of a high school education). WIOA will reimburse a maximum of $12,000 for a 2-year program. They can only reimburse up to 104 weeks of training.

o Mickey: I would like to have a Business Rep Training session this March to push OJT and registered apprenticeships. BSR are available to assist companies with the registration process.

o Adam Strickland: Under 18, any prohibited occupation (ex. evolving dangerous tools) must be supervised by ALSDE and approved by ADOL to be considered for a waiver. Meaning if they are not in school they can’t perform the job.

§ Frank: Does USDOL (Federal) law trump ADOL (State) law?

· Adam: Yes

o Frank: How long does a company have to be in business to get WIOA funds?

§ Mickey: They must not have a plant/facility any were in the U.S. that has been shut down permanently within the last 120 days.

o Question asked: Is the amount of available funds related to the number of startup employees?

§ Mickey Answered: No. However, it’s my personal policy (not WIOA) to serve more than 25% of the number of startup employees.

o Patsy: Can you provide me a checklist of the WIOA requirements?

§ Mickey: Yes. I will provide you a list of what businesses will need to apply for WIOA services.

o Ruby Beezley: The eligibility process must be done in 90 days or you will have to restart the process. The time it takes to complete the process is predominantly based on how long it takes the applicant to turn in the requested documentation.

o Rosemary Elebash: based on recent survey results, Alabama’s veterans are not taking advantage of WIOA funds.

§ Antiqua: Can you tell me why?

ü Labor Market Information (Charts, Graphs, and corresponding Information provided to group) - Tonya Lee from

o Tonya: Occupations requiring apprenticeships are growing the most. The majority of these high demand occupations are in construction and manufacturing fields. Industry Certified Credentials are difficult to capture. Alabama Unemployment Rate and number employed for 11/2016 is 5.9% for State fate seasonally adjusted (5.6% for State rate not seasonally adjusted). Discussed Workforce Development Regions and number employed with corresponding unemployment rates broken down by the previous State’s 10 regions (State’s 7 Regions data will be made available in February). Information regarding 2016 Continued Unemployment Claims broken down by the State’s 7 Regions. 64% of High School students enroll in college. Leaving 36% for us to potentially work with. 2015 Employment by Targeted Sectors discussed. High Demand Occupations requiring Associate Degree and under discussed. Discussed Apprenticeship Target areas for each region with corresponding job titles that potential RAs would fall under.

ü Remaining Items on Agenda/Remaining Question

o Patsy: We will cover the remaining items on our agenda at the next meeting on Feb 15th at 10am (every 3rd Weds of the month). I will reach out Partners to dialogue further about what was discussed for clarity.

§ Remaining Items

· AA Database

· Marketing Outreach Efforts

· AA Strategic Plan Development

· USDOL Partnership Update

· Review AA Checklist

· Region 4 (Central 6) Pilot Program Development

o Patsy: Asked Josh if he knew about any Regional Conferences that target Career Coaches, CTE educators, Counselors, Principals, etc. where Apprenticeship Alabama could present about Registered Apprenticeships.

§ Josh: Yes, it is too late to do it this year because one is being held Friday, 1/20/17 in Hanceville. We may not be ready for this year, but we can do it next year. We can do a session for the group.