Workforce Development
Apprenticeship and Worker Training

Learning for Work Program: A three-part plan to accelerate career readiness and reduce the burden of student loan debt:
- Youth Apprenticeship Program: Create a one- or two-year program beginning in 11th or 12th grade that combines academic classroom coursework with mentored on-the-job training in a specific occupational area.
- Enhanced Regents Professional Degree: Students who enroll in the Youth Apprenticeship Program would earn this degree with a designation in their career field of choice.
  - Any student who is not offered or who decides not to seek employment in their field of choice will be awarded a minimum of 15 credit hours at any SUNY or CUNY institution.
- Youth Apprenticeship Tax Credit: Establishes a $1,500 per-apprentice tax credit for businesses that take part in the Youth Apprenticeship Program (A.2118, Ra).

Apprenticeship Requirements: Require that apprenticeship programs be specific to the scope of work being performed and have a graduation rate of at least 30% to maintain their certification under Department of Labor criteria (A.4781, Durso).

Strengthen Apprenticeship Programs: Ensure hands-on experience for apprentices by requiring 10% of the total construction workforce performing work pursuant to certain government contracts to be participants in certified apprenticeship programs (A.4738, Durso).

Omnibus Learning for Work Legislation: Enact the following recommendations of the Assembly Minority “Learning for Work” Task Force:
- Community College Merit and Mobility Scholarship: Award 1,000 scholarships of $3,000 per year for two years to students who graduate in the top 40% of his/her high school class and attend a New York State Community College.
- BOCES Rebrand: Rebrand BOCES as Career Prep Centers.
- Increase Aidable Salaries: Provide for a multi-year phase-in of increased aidable salaries for any career and technical education (CTE) teacher, supervisor, or employee of a BOCES program to $54,000 by the 2026-27 school year.
- Implement Numerous Regulatory Proposals: These include, but are not limited to: creating a “Learning for Work K-12 Initiative” to introduce age-appropriate CTE programs, consolidating CTE and apprenticeship program operations of the Department of Labor and State Education Department into one entity with apprenticeship navigators, creating an easy-to-navigate website for apprenticeships in NYS and creating more CTE teacher programs at SUNY and CUNY (A.4394, Bologna).

Employee Training Incentive Program Increase: Increase the Employee Training Incentive Program (E-TIP) tax credit to employers from 50% to 70% of eligible training costs for employees (A.4448, Gallahan).