La. Admin. Code tit. 40, § IX-301 - Standards of Apprenticeship
A. An
apprenticeship program, to be eligible for registration/approval by the
Louisiana Workforce Commission, Apprenticeship Division shall conform to the
following standards.
1. All apprenticeship
programs proposed for adoption shall be required to submit standards of
apprenticeship on forms supplied by the Apprenticeship Division. All standards
of apprenticeship shall first be submitted to the director of apprenticeship,
who, within 90 days and after careful review, shall make a recommendation to
the State Apprenticeship Council for approval if all minimum standards have
been met.
a. All other notifications and
requests for changes and updates relating to a program sponsor's standards of
apprenticeship shall be submitted to the director of apprenticeship within 45
days.
2. The program
shall have an organized, written plan embodying the terms and conditions of
employment, training, and supervision of one or more apprentices in the
apprenticeable occupation, as defined in this Part, and subscribed to by a
sponsor who has undertaken to carry out the apprentice program and shall
contain a statement as to whether or not the apprentice will be compensated for
the required school time. The written plan shall also state the names and
affiliation of each employer and employee representative and its Joint
Apprenticeship Committee.
3. The
program standards shall contain the state plan for implementing Title 29 CFR
Part 30, Equal Employment Opportunity in Apprenticeship and Training, which
plan is made a part of these rules and additional provisions concerning the
following:
a. the employment and training of
the apprentice in a skilled trade;
b. the term of apprenticeship, which for an
individual apprentice may be measured either through the completion of the
industry standard for on-the-job learning (at least 2,000 hours) (time-based
approach), the attainment of competency (competency-based approach), or a blend
of the time-based and competency-based approaches (hybrid approach), as defined
in
29 CFR
29.5;
i.
the determination of the appropriate approach for the program standards is made
by the program sponsor, subject to approval by the registration agency of the
determination as appropriate to the apprenticeable occupation for which the
program standards are registered;
c. an outline of the work processes in which
the apprentice will receive supervised work experience and training on the job,
and the allocation of the approximate time to be spent in each major
process;
d. provision for
organized, related and supplemental instruction in technical subjects related
to the trade. A minimum of 144 hours of instruction for each year of the
apprenticeship shall be required. This instruction in technical subjects may be
accomplished through media such as classroom, occupational or industry courses,
electronic media, or other instruction approved by the Workforce Commission,
Apprenticeship Division. Also a statement showing where and when the related
instruction will be administered shall be contained in the standards;
e. a progressively increasing schedule of
wages to be paid the apprentice consistent with the skill acquired. The entry
wage shall not be less than the minimum wage prescribed by the Fair Labor
Standards Act, where applicable, unless a higher wage is required by other
applicable federal law, state law, respective regulations, or by collective
bargaining agreements. The journeyworker wage rate upon which the apprentices'
wages are to be based shall be set by the program sponsor and approved by the
director of apprenticeship and State Apprenticeship Council in accordance with
the following criteria listed in priority order:
i. the journeyworker wage rate set by the
applicable collective bargaining agreement pertinent to an existing registered
apprenticeship program in the same area and for the same trade as the proposed
apprenticeship program;
ii. the
higher of the prevailing wage for the craft for the area as set by the U.S.
Department of Labor pursuant to the Davis-Bacon Act and published in the
Federal Register;
iii. in the event that an apprenticeship
program is proposed for a craft in an area where there is no pertinent
collective bargaining agreement, Davis-Bacon prevailing wage rate, or local
prevailing wage rate, the Apprenticeship Division, based on information
gathered by its staff through annual wage surveys, may set a journeyworker wage
rate for the specific area and craft, to be incorporated into the proposed
standards;
f. periodic
review and evaluation of the apprentice's progress in job performance and
related instruction; and the maintenance of appropriate progress reports. All
programs registered with Louisiana Workforce Commission, Apprenticeship
Division shall maintain records on each apprentice in their program as to the
hours of employment, work experience and related supplemental
instruction;
g. the numeric ratio
of apprentices to journeyworkers consistent with proper supervision, training,
safety, and continuity of employment, and applicable provisions in collective
bargaining agreements, except where such ratios are expressly prohibited by the
collective bargaining agreements. The ratio language shall be specific and
clear as to application in terms of jobsite, work force, department or plant;
and in no instance shall such ratio provide for more than one apprentice for
each journeyworker employed per jobsite;
h. a probationary period reasonable in
relation to the full apprenticeship term, with full credit given for such
period toward completion of apprenticeship, and where the probationary period
does not exceed 25 percent of the length of the program, or 1 year, whichever
is shorter;
i. adequate and safe
equipment and facilities for training, and supervision, and safety training for
apprentices on the job and in related instruction;
j. the minimum qualifications required by a
sponsor for persons entering the apprenticeship program, with an eligible
starting age not less than 16 years;
k. the placement of an apprentice under a
written apprenticeship agreement as required by the state apprenticeship law
and regulations. The agreement shall directly, or by reference, incorporate the
standards of the program as part of the agreement;
l. the granting of credit for previously
acquired experience, training, or skills for all applicants equally, with
commensurate wages for any progression step so granted;
m. transfer of program sponsor's training
obligation when the program sponsor is unable to fulfill its obligation under
the apprenticeship agreement to another program sponsor, within the same trade,
with the written consent of the apprentice and both program sponsors, subject
to the approval of the director of apprenticeship;
n. assurance of qualified training personnel
and adequate supervision on the job;
o. recognition for successful completion of
apprenticeship is evidence by an appropriate certificate of
completion;
p. identification of
the registration agency;
q.
provision for the registration, cancellation and deregistration of the program;
and requirement for the prompt submission of any proposed modification or
amendment thereto;
r. provision for
registration of apprenticeship agreements, modifications, and amendments;
notice to the registration office of persons who have successfully completed
apprenticeship programs; and notice of cancellations, suspensions and
terminations of apprenticeship agreements and causes therefor;
s. authority for the termination of an
apprenticeship agreement during the probationary period by either party without
stated cause;
t. name and address
of the appropriate person authorized by the program sponsor to receive, process
and make disposition of complaints; and
u. recording and maintenance of all records
concerning apprenticeship as may be required by Louisiana Workforce Commission,
Apprenticeship Division and other applicable laws;
v. any trade having been previously approved
for training for a particular apprenticeship training program sponsor which has
had no activity for a period of two years, may be canceled from the list of
approved trades contained in the apprenticeship standards for such program
sponsor.
4.
Apprenticeship instructors must meet the state Department of Education's
requirements for a vocational-technical instructor, or be a subject matter
expert, which is an individual, such as a journeyworker, who is recognized
within an industry as having expertise in a specific occupation. In order to be
considered a subject matter expert in a particular trade, an instructor must
hold a registered apprenticeship certificate of completion, or a similar trade
specific credential recognized industry-wide, and have training in teaching
techniques and adult learning styles, which may occur before or after the
apprenticeship instructor has started to provide the related technical
instruction.
B.
Reciprocity. The Louisiana Workforce Commission, Apprenticeship Division shall
accord reciprocal approval for federal purposes to apprentices, apprenticeship
programs and standards that are registered in other states by the Office of
Apprenticeship or another state registration agency if such reciprocity is
requested by the apprenticeship program sponsor. Program sponsors seeking
reciprocal approval must meet the wage and hour provisions and apprentice ratio
standards of the reciprocal state.
Notes
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