HB 132-SCHOOL APPRENTICESHIP PROGS; TAX CREDITS  7:50:08 PM CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ announced that the next order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 132 "An Act relating to technical education and apprenticeships; relating to concurrent vocational education, training, and on-the-job trade experience programs for students enrolled in public secondary schools; relating to child labor; and providing for an effective date." CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ noted that HB 132 is a House Labor and Commerce Standing Committee bill on apprenticeship. She said Co-Chair Fields would be introducing the bill. 7:50:58 PM CO-CHAIR FIELDS, on behalf of the House Labor and Commerce Standing Committee, sponsor, introduced HB 132, the Alaska Apprenticeship Expansion Act. He stated that the bill's origins are rooted in the long-standing success of apprenticeships in Alaska, the experiences he had while working in the Department of Labor & Workforce Development on expanding apprenticeships, and on conversations with Representative McCarty prior to the representative's election. He said Representative McCarty's election was a good opportunity to look at ideas that could be used to promote apprenticeship, he noted. Last session the legislature came together around apprenticeships through House Bill 308, which strengthened apprenticeships in the plumbing, pipefitting, and electrical trades. CO-CHAIR FIELDS said HB 132 would expand apprenticeships beyond the building trades. He related that many Alaskans think of the traditional construction trades when they hear "apprenticeship." But, he continued, in the US and around the world there has been tremendous expansion of apprenticeship beyond the traditional building trades, especially in the last decade. Expansion has been seen in insurance, financial services, health care, and advanced manufacturing. CO-CHAIR FIELDS explained that HB 132 would support expansion of apprenticeships within traditional sectors as well as strengthen connections between Alaska's career and technical education programs with school districts and apprenticeship programs. More graduating seniors would have career options with post- secondary credentials, he said, and more employers would have an identified pipeline of skilled talent. CO-CHAIR FIELDS further stated that Alaska needs to keep working to expand dual credit programs in which apprenticeship program participants earn college credit and so that high school students in non-apprenticeship career and technical educational programs have more dual credit opportunities. He stressed that these opportunities are particularly important for socio- economic mobility, in other words for graduating seniors who can't afford not to work. For too long people have been forced to make an unfair choice going to work or getting a degree. With the marriage of college and apprenticeship, and career and technical education and college credit, Alaska's students can have both. CO-CHAIR FIELDS noted that Representative McCarty spoke to many stakeholders and wrote HB 108, which is currently contained within HB 132. He said he would defer to Representative McCarty on whether to keep these as a comprehensive package or to pursue HB 108 separately. He thanked Representative McCarty, along with numerous other individuals, state departments, and federal departments, for their help related to HB 132. 7:54:59 PM CO-CHAIR FIELDS turned to a PowerPoint presentation on HB 132 titled "Apprenticeship Expansion Act." He displayed slide 2, "Apprenticeship and CTE Background," and related that Alaska has high-performing apprenticeship programs in traditional trades, and almost 800 employers participate in Apprenticeships Day. He said there has been exciting innovation with apprenticeship in new industries, which the committee heard about in an earlier informational hearing from the Primary Care Association and others. While Alaska has some outstanding school district programs, they are not at the scale needed to meet student demand. He said a question to ask is: What can the state do to support school districts that have an opportunity to scale up? Other states and nations have shown the potential to expand skill apprenticeship and career and technical education (CTE). Alaska can learn from the examples set by nations like Switzerland and Germany and the state of South Carolina, and the apprenticeship tax credit provided in HB 132 is an example of trying to learn from successful models. He reiterated his previous statement that expansion of apprenticeship and CTE would help people pull themselves up by their bootstraps when they can't afford not to work in college. If the legislature puts the right policy framework into place, he added, Alaska would be able to capitalize on new infusions of federal grant support for apprenticeship. CO-CHAIR FIELDS proceeded to slide 3, "Incentivize Employer Participation." He specified that HB 132 would establish an employer tax credit of $1,000 per apprentice, a model used by South Carolina to significantly scale up apprenticeship in advanced manufacturing. The bill as currently written is a tax credit for for-profit companies, he pointed out. A question is whether the committee would like to make this a refundable credit so that it would also benefit non-profit employers. CO-CHAIR FIELDS spoke to slide 4, "Depts. Labor, Education Coordination." He said that historically the Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOLWD) has supported apprenticeship in Alaska. A question is whether that support could be broadened with collaboration from the Department of Education and Early Development (DEED). The bill's language, he continued, does envision strong collaboration between DOLWD and DEED, given the need to expand school to apprenticeship programs and to the extent possible along more dual credit opportunities for CTE programs including in "the STEM fields." He noted the bill's language is general, giving the department the flexibility to support school districts where it can. CO-CHAIR FIELDS addressed slide 5, "College Credit for CTE and Apprenticeship." He explained the bill directs the Board of Regents to find ways to expand dual credit for CTE courses and college credit for apprenticeship participants. He said the university has made positive steps in this direction already. He reiterated that HB 132 contains the entirety of HB 108 by Representative McCarty. He concluded by stating that the bill is simple a tax credit, collaboration among departments, and dual credits with the university. 7:58:40 PM REPRESENTATIVE NELSON requested further context regarding the statement by Co-Chair Fields that last year the legislature helped expand partnership through the building trade. CO-CHAIR FIELDS replied that the legislature took what had been regulations around apprenticeships in the plumbing, pipefitting, and electrical trades and put some of those into statute to strengthen the state's statutory support for some of the skilled building trade apprenticeships. REPRESENTATIVE NELSON asked if that also included a tax credit. CO-CHAIR FIELDS responded that it did not. He explained that that is more in terms of occupational licensing. REPRESENTATIVE NELSON inquired whether there is a reason for a tax credit being included in HB 132. CO-CHAIR FIELDS answered that HB 132 proposes a tax credit of $1,000 per student based on the successful model seen in South Carolina scaling up apprenticeship. To his knowledge, he added, the legislature has not contemplated an incentive like this before, so he wanted to put it on the table. 8:00:09 PM JOHN HAKALA, State Director, Office of Apprenticeship, US Department of Labor, stated that he delivered a presentation on youth apprenticeship on 2/24/21, and his comments today are a follow-up to that. He said he reviewed the 2/9/21 draft version of the bill and would like to recommend two wording changes to "Section 1(12)" which states, "provide educational opportunities in the areas of vocational education and training, and basic education to individuals over 16 years of age who are no longer attending school; the department may consult with business and labor unions to develop a program to prepare students for apprenticeships or internships that will lead to employment opportunities". [In the bill before the committee, Version 32- LS0476\B, this language is found in Sec. 3(a)(12).] Mr. Hakala recommended that "career and technical education" be added after the comma following "vocational education and training". He explained that for youth apprenticeship, a look is taken at career and technical education credit for on-the-job learning and the related technical instruction. Since there is an Alaska career and technical education plan, he continued, it would be nice to have that reference included. MR. HAKALA, regarding the above language, further advised that using the term "internships" would introduce confusion into the intent of the bill. He therefore recommended that "internships" be replaced with "pre-apprenticeships" because internships, work-based learning, on-the-job training, and CTE high school program preparatory training all fall under pre-apprenticeships for purposes of the House bill. He also noted that the current federal apprenticeship regulations, as well as the draft National Apprenticeship Act for 2021, only reference registered apprenticeship, youth apprenticeship, and pre-apprenticeship. [Thus, as per Mr. Hakala's recommendations, this language would read: "provide educational opportunities in the areas of vocational education and training, career and technical education, and basic education to individuals over 16 years of age who are no longer attending school; the department may consult with business and labor unions to develop a program to prepare students for apprenticeships or pre-apprenticeships that will lead to employment opportunities".] 8:03:33 PM MR. HAKALA addressed "Sec. 3" [in the 2/9/21 draft version of the bill] which states that AS 43.20 is amended by adding a new section to read: "To qualify as a registered apprentice for purposes of the credit under this section, a person must participate in a registered apprenticeship program recognized by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development." [In the bill before the committee, Version 32-LS0476\B, this language is found in Sec. 9 (b).]. He pointed out that his office is the US Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship, which has always been the registration agency for apprenticeship in Alaska. He advised that the registration agency should be included in this section to avoid confusion about the roles and responsibility of the state and federal apprenticeship partnership. The revised wording, he continued, needs to reflect how the state and federal apprenticeship partnership has functioned over the years. Mr. Hakala therefore recommended that the language be revised to read as follows: "To qualify as a registered apprentice for purposes of the credit under this section, a person must participate in a registered apprenticeship program registered with the US Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship, and recognized by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development." 8:05:15 PM CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ said Mr. Hakala's recommendations are helpful and requested that he submit the specific language to ensure the committee gets it right. She related that one reason the committee wanted to introduce this bill was to set up the infrastructure that would allow [the state] to take advantage of forthcoming federal changes in apprenticeship that are expected. 8:05:39 PM REPRESENTATIVE KAUFMAN inquired about the functional differences in definition between apprenticeship, pre-apprenticeship, and internship. MR. HAKALA replied that the registered apprenticeship is the outcome that a lot of the preparatory programs are hoping for or training towards. Depending on their design, he explained, they might have a very tight connection to training their participants to have advanced standing or direct entry into an apprenticeship, where others may not. Work-based learning, internships, on-the-job training, and preparatory training are a component of registered apprenticeship, he continued, but registered apprenticeship is broader and more structured. They are components of the apprenticeship, but they are not apprenticeship themselves, whereas registered apprenticeship contains probably all the components of any one of those work- based learning models, but the reverse is not true. He specified that HB 132 is specifically about registered apprenticeship, so career and technical education, all the preparatory training, pre-apprenticeships, and such, are not a full apprenticeship program. REPRESENTATIVE KAUFMAN asked whether there is a place where he can see the definitions. MR. HAKALA responded that he would provide Co-Chair Fields with the definitions to share with the committee. 8:07:58 PM CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ related that the internships she had in college and high school didn't have specific concrete benchmarks that she had to achieve, whereas an apprenticeship has very specific things that must be learned in order to move on to the next level. Internships are more general, she added, and apprenticeships are more specific 8:07:58 PM BRAD AUSTIN, Training Coordinator & Instructor, Local Union 262, Plumbers and Pipefitters, stated that his union has a school-to- apprenticeship program with the Juneau-Douglas High School. He explained that his union's program requires the students to take certain classes while in high school. Then at 17 the student is placed with a contractor, and while the student probably wouldn't work with heavy tools it gives the student a chance to be around the trade and work with some of the plumbers. Upon receiving a high school diploma or GED, the student is eligible to directly enter the union's apprenticeship program. MR. AUSTIN pointed out that "direct entry" is a big deal because the normal course for getting into an apprenticeship program is to file an application with the training committee, which in Local Union 262's case only happens once a year. Then the applicant must sit for an interview with his union's joint apprenticeship training committee of six people, which can be intimidating. In addition, the applicant is competing with however many people are coming in through that application process. The school-to-apprenticeship candidate with a direct entry into the program bypasses all of that and comes directly into the program. MR. AUSTIN further pointed out that Local Union 262's school-to- apprenticeship agreement also offers credit hours towards the apprenticeship program. An apprentice in his union's program or the Anchorage or Fairbanks programs, he continued, is going to serve 10,000 hours over five years. Local Union 262's school- to-apprenticeship agreement offers up to 500 hours of credit, which put into monetary terms is a raise of $2 an hour after three months rather than six months. MR. AUSTIN said the partners in the school-to-apprenticeship program are the school and the sponsoring agency. In the case of Local Union 262, he related, the union meets with the student and the parent or guardian so that everybody is informed. There is no cost to the student or school, a win-win situation. MR. AUSTIN stated that HB 132 would help with several problems that his union has encountered. The bill would promote and incentivize vocation education and CTE classes, taking them off the dusty shelf in the counselor's office and putting them out front. These are great careers for people who choose not to go to college, he said. For example, an apprentice serving the five years in Local Union 262's program will have made $281,000 in wages, and when the benefit package is added in the amount comes to $524,000. These are good, high-paying jobs, he continued, and the school-to-apprenticeship program is a great conduit for an easy entry into one of them. He noted that the school-to-apprentice program at Local 367 in Fairbanks currently has 14 candidates and works with six schools because its program is signed with the Fairbanks North Star Borough. 8:15:31 PM CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ urged committee members to visit Local 262's training school, something that she did and where she was able to do some welding. 8:15:45 PM REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY thanked Mr. Austin for his testimony and for the tour he provided at the facility last week. He asked how many apprenticeship opportunities exist at the Juneau- Douglas High School, what percentage of students are involved, and what other programs are offered. MR. AUSTIN replied that there are three programs in Alaska for union apprenticeships for plumbers and pipefitters. For independent contractors he knows of three independent plumbing apprenticeships in Juneau alone. He said there are probably a lot more independent contractor apprenticeship programs than union. He deferred to Mr. Hakala for providing exact numbers. 8:18:32 PM MARI SELLE, Director, Workforce Development, Alaska Primary Care Association (APCA), South Central Alaska Health Education Center (SCAHEC), testified in support of HB 132. She stated that HB 132 has the potential to open doors for youth to enter health and human services careers. She said APCA is a nonprofit that supports community health centers, and its mission is to create healthy communities by supporting community health centers. One way that APCA does this, she continued, is by supporting workforce development activities. She noted that many of APCA's clinics and health facilities are in remote locations. MS. SELLE related that APCA has been a multi-agency sponsor for registered apprenticeships since 2017. She recognized the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development for growing health care apprenticeships in Alaska through the American Apprenticeship Initiative and the State Apprenticeship Expansion Grant. She explained that a multi-agency sponsor works with a variety of health care employers, many of which are APCA's community health centers, and APCA manages the apprenticeship program for these employers. The association teaches the didactic education, and the employers provide the on-the-skills job training, while APCA monitors and tracks all the apprentices so the employer's only worry is employing that apprentice and providing the apprentice with mentorship. MS. SELLE said APCA has registered apprenticeships for a variety of health care fields, mostly at the entry level. Recently APCA added a human services apprenticeship for direct support professionals, which are individuals who work with people that experience a disability. This fall, she continued, APCA plans to launch a pharmacy tech apprenticeship. She specified that about one-fourth of APCA's apprentices are youth, defined as ages 18-24, and that teens younger than 18 can't work in the health care industry. To increase the availability of apprenticeships for youth, she continued, APCA is actively working with Alaska Work Partnership on a youth apprenticeship grant as well as working with several school districts to connect their CTE programs with APCA's apprenticeship programs. MS. SELLE stated that lots of energy is currently going into creating apprenticeship opportunities for youth, and HB 132 would fuel this fire that is already starting to burn. This is an excellent apprenticeship model that works well for entry level health care jobs, she said. This is because facilities are already having to recruit, mentor, and train staff for entry level jobs; out of necessity facilities must hire someone who doesn't have the experience and train them. This apprenticeship model can provide that missing piece, she continued. It is a formal education in a structured way for a young person to learn the needed skills and have multiple mentors through both the APCA and the employer. These are great jobs, especially for youth and those without experience, she added, as they can get started, get certification, and get on a genuine career track without incurring debt. 8:23:23 PM MS. SELLE stressed her support for the proposed legislation's structure that enables apprentices to earn dual credit. She said APCA has a partnership with Alaska Pacific University (APU) where the apprentices can earn college credit and an undergraduate certificate through their apprenticeship. Upon completion of their apprenticeship that undergraduate certificate can pull through to an associate degree or bachelor's degree, and the apprentice can get on a career ladder to go into nursing, or public health, or even business or social work depending on what the apprentice is interested in. As well, Ms. Selle continued, apprentices are earning national certification through the federal Office of Apprenticeship. Many of APCA's programs, she added, are well suited for youth, especially those youth who are on a career track versus a college track. The Direct Support Professional (DSP) Apprenticeship, for example, would be wonderful for a young person. These apprenticeships give youth a well-lit path right out of high school, while also earning college credit if desired. MS. SELLE concluded her testimony by noting that one challenge is convincing employers to take on apprenticeships. She said HB 132 would provide a financial incentive to employers that would help offset the risks that employers are taking. She expressed her support for including the nonprofit sector in HB 132, and pointed out that 90 percent of the employers participating in APCA's apprenticeships are nonprofits. 8:25:52 PM REPRESENTATIVE NELSON requested Ms. Selle to elaborate about the risks that employers are taking regarding apprenticeship. MS. SELLE replied that health care tends to be an environment where there are high stakes safety and regulatory requirements. In this environment, she continued, health care facilities aren't necessarily keen to jump into a new training model. Even though apprenticeship is not new, it is new to health care and human service employers in Alaska. So, there is risk for them to invest the time and energy into trying this and taking on new inexperienced staff, and she therefore thinks that an incentive would be helpful. REPRESENTATIVE NELSON offered his understanding the risks Ms. Selle is referring to are the time and effort that a business would be putting into the apprenticeship program, not risks to patients or administrative tasks. MS. SELLE responded correct and clarified that she was not talking about risks to patients. 8:27:27 PM REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY asked whether a person must be 18 or over to participate in APCA's program. MS. SELLE answered correct. REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY stated he would call that "young adult" rather than "youth" given youth is generally categorized as teenagers. He requested Ms. Selle to provide APCA's definition of youth. MS. SELLE replied that APCA works with the [Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act] WIOA Program which defines youth as individuals between the ages of 14 and 24, so that is the framework APCA has been using. She said APCA's youth apprenticeship program and youth apprenticeship efforts focus on individuals who are 18-24 and APCA calls them youth. 8:29:05 PM KYLE KAISER, Electrical Entry Program, Membership & Development Lead, Local 1547, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), President & Founder, Veteran Internships Providing Employment Readiness (VIPER), testified in support of HB 132. He thanked the committee for discussing the various programs today. He pointed out that missing from the discussions was apprenticeships as a tie-in for veterans getting out of the military. He said he heard the terms youth and young adult, but not military even though current and former military members comprise a good portion of Alaska's population. He reported that each year 200,000 veterans on average leave the military, and 150,000 of them are unemployed and have no career path when they get out. MR. KAISER related that VIPER's mission is to bridge that gap between military and civilian employment, and apprenticeships are an excellent way to do that. He said he participated in an apprenticeship when he left the military. He stressed that an apprenticeship offers hope. A person transitioning out of the military, he explained, doesn't have many transferable skills. For example, he was an airborne infantry sniper, which didn't give him much to translate to. Even someone in the military medical field won't have skills that transfer, he added. An apprenticeship fixes many of those issues because the individual will learn everything needed for his or her next career. MR. KAISER emphasized his support for expanding efforts to bring people into apprenticeships. He offered his agreement with providing incentives and suggested that the state also inform employers about the federal incentives for hiring veterans, which is something that isn't well known or talked about. MR. KAISER stated that apprenticeship and how it relates to veterans is much more than just a job. It could very well be saving someone's life, he said. Giving someone hope in his or her next career and a direction for moving forward is invaluable "when the demons start crawling out of the closet." Apprenticeships would be a great thing for his children when they grow up, he continued, but he still wants to make sure there is support for the men and women coming out of the military and looking for their next careers, and apprenticeships could be the answer for doing that. MR. KAISER said it doesn't matter whether something is defined as an apprenticeship, pre-apprenticeship, or internship so long as it is a progression into a career. For example, he noted, VIPER is launching an aviation maintenance program in May [2021]. It will provide 12 weeks of general aviation and after that the individual can choose to go to accredited school or go to work for an employer that has an internal apprenticeship. He stated that HB 132 will help get more programs like that going with employers and will open more opportunities. 8:33:24 PM REPRESENTATIVE NELSON complimented the VIPER program. He asked whether the federal incentives for apprenticeships were only for former military members or also included others. MR. KAISER replied that he was referring to the federal tax incentives for the employment of veterans, and that if the state notifies employers of state incentives for creating an apprenticeship program it should also notify them of the federal incentives for veterans. 8:34:25 PM JEFF LIBBY, Director, Center of Strategic Partnership and Research (CaSPR), Director, Applied Environmental Research Center (AERC), University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA), noted that he previously served as the Associate Dean for the Community and Technical College at UAA. He thanked the co-chairs for inviting him to provide testimony on HB 132, which would promote apprenticeship opportunities in Alaska. He said he is here today to tell members about the work the University of Alaska Anchorage has been doing to support this national initiative for workforce development and helping to put Alaskans back to work, especially after the pandemic. MR. LIBBY specified that both the University of Alaska Anchorage and University of Alaska Fairbanks have associate degree programs that provide avenues for anyone who completed a registered apprenticeship to transfer related technical instruction from his or her apprenticeship into college credit within the University of Alaska system. For example, he explained, an individual completing an 8,000-hour apprenticeship can transfer his or her completed apprenticeship training hours and have that qualify for up to 38 university or college credits toward an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree in apprenticeship technologies at either UAA or UAF. The remaining credits to complete these associate degrees can be completed 100 percent through distance delivery classes. The best part, he continued, is that these degrees are part of what has been traditionally known as a "two-plus-two-degree program." This means that all previously awarded college credits and training hours for an individual's apprenticeship can be transferred into a bachelor's degree in Applied Leadership at the University of Alaska Anchorage. This degree can also be completed 100 percent online, which allows anyone in Alaska who has completed a registered apprenticeship an opportunity to complete an associate degree and a bachelor's degree regardless of where they live in the state. MR. LIBBY provided a brief history. He related that this was originally started with UAA's Community and Technical College that partnered with a local auto group in Anchorage to develop the first apprenticeship for automotive service and repair technicians. It was anticipated that existing students in the college's automotive technology program would enroll in this opportunity, which they did. But, not expected, was enrollment by employees from the organization into UAA's program because of the opportunity it provided for their career growth. As word spread through the program's advisory board, he said, other car dealerships and independent service and repair facilities throughout Alaska wanted to be a part of this apprenticeship opportunity. So, UAA applied to be a sponsor for multi occupational apprenticeships with the US Department of Labor. This sponsorship allows UAA to send students to any employer and the university system provides the related technical instruction for the employer, and it can be in any occupation. MR. LIBBY stated that after becoming a sponsor for multi occupational apprenticeships, UAA decided to transfer the sponsorship from the Community and Technical College to the Center of Strategic Partnership and Research, which lies under the Business Enterprise Institute. This allows for expansion across the colleges and the entire University of Alaska system to identify other opportunities for apprenticeship to help fill our workforce gaps. He said UAA has been collaborating with the American Association for Community Colleges and was awarded external funding to support apprentices in Alaska and increase these opportunities. Today UAA is working with the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development in this national initiative for expanding community college apprenticeships that is sponsored by the US Department of Labor and the American Association for Community Colleges. Currently, more than 300 universities and colleges are participating in this initiative. MR. LIBBY opined that the term apprenticeship is not well defined. When the term apprenticeship is used, he said, it is often associated with traditional skills and technical trades, but today almost half of the nation's apprentices are working in the health care industry. He related that UAA has partnered with the Alaska Primary Care Association and is working with UAA's College of Health to continue to expand this initiative and help put Alaskans to work. Also, he noted, the university has developed an apprenticeship program for diesel mechanics, and some of the related technical instruction is offered as articulated credit and dual enrollment for high school students throughout the state to help jumpstart careers. Mr. Libby further noted that UAA is currently developing an apprenticeship in research for both graduate and undergraduate students to work in fields related to climate change, fisheries research, and other wildlife and environmental fields. This will be the first of its kind, he said, and several universities in the Lower 48 are interested in modeling the platform being designed by UAA. It will help University of Alaska students across the board gain field and hands-on experience in research. 8:39:54 PM REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY asked whether there are kids in the middle college who are doing the program at UAA. MR. LIBBY replied that a couple initiatives are underway at this point, one of them being information technology (IT). He said dual enrollment opportunities for high school students are the big thing offered by the university. At this point, he continued, the university doesn't have anything with middle school, middle college, opportunities, which has been an initiative for a while. He pointed out that students who want to participate in apprenticeship could get articulated credit or dual enrollment credits at the high school level and then transfer in to expedite their careers in Alaska's economy. REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY inquired whether dual enrollment means high school credit plus college credit. MR. LIBBY answered that those students taking a course that has articulated credit or that is qualified as dual enrollment would be receiving college credit at the high school level. For example, UA's automotive, diesel, computer networking and systems technology, and several other programs all have articulated, or dual enrollment, courses offered at the high school level, so students are gaining college credit while they are at the high school level. 8:41:38 PM REPRESENTATIVE KAUFMAN commented that most committee members probably agree that apprenticeship programs and vocational and technical training is good. He observed that the bill has requirements for schools as well as other requirements, yet the fiscal note is zero. He said cost is a big question for him, so he would like to hear more about the cost as the committee discusses the bill further. CO-CHAIR FIELDS responded that DOLWD has a strong network of apprenticeship specialists. He said the bill language directs DEED to collaborate with DOLWD, and he would defer to Commissioner Johnson (of DEED) to explain how he would envision implementing that and obviously it might change. He explained that the resources the state would be taking advantage of are federal resources. Co-Chair Fields recounted that when he worked at DOLWD he applied for federal grants in partnership with many great people, and they were lucky enough to receive them and it helped jumpstart programs like APCA. He said [DOLWD] sort of positioned itself to benefit from federal funds and the opportunity today is to build on past achievements. Regarding the state's history on apprenticeships, he related that much of the foundational work goes back to when Click Bishop was the DOLWD commissioner and Governor Palin was governor. While at DOLWD, he continued, he felt the department was building on what they did then, and the investment and support for apprenticeship has continued under this administration. He said HB 132 looks at what is next, which is these linkages with schools and the connections to college credit. There is more federal money coming down the line and if there is collaboration with DEED and collaboration continues with the university, [the state] will be very well positioned to capitalize on that. Co-Chair Fields further related that district level CTE coordinators have said the districts need people to make connections with employers so that there are more school-to-apprenticeship programs for existing apprenticeship sponsors and for employers that are looking for workforce but don't yet have an apprenticeship program, and he would like to see federal dollars support this. He agreed that paying those folks would absolutely take money and said that would be a role that federal money could play. He concluded by stating that DOLWD already has good infrastructure and the department of labor at the federal level already has good infrastructure, [and HB 132 would] increase coordination with DEED to position [the state] to capitalize on federal grants. CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ suggested this be taken up further when the committee hears the bill again later this week. 8:44:52 PM REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY recalled Co-Chair Fields asking whether HB 108 should stay part of HB 132 and said that 75-80 percent of HB 108 is in HB 132. He noted today's testimony was primarily about people older than 18. But, he continued, HB 108 is for high school students to get into the trades and be recognized that they have certifications to make them employable right away and more viable to the workforce within a short period of time. He said he therefore desires that all the language from HB 108 be removed from HB 132. CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ stated she thinks part of that is because most of today's testifiers were talking about existing programs. She concurred it is a fair point that the committee didn't hear very much today about high school level apprenticeship or pre- apprenticeship. She said the concerns of Representative McCarty would be taken up when the committee again hears the bill. She further surmised that Co-Chair Fields would follow up with Representative McCarty as well. CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ announced that HB 132 was held over.