SENATE LABOR COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
SENATE, No. 688
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: JANUARY 27, 2020
The Senate Labor Committee reports favorably, a Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bill No. 688.
This substitute enhances and expands the State’s current initiatives under the “Youth Transitions to Work Partnership Act,” (P.L.1993, c.268 (C.34:15E-1 et seq.) to establish pre-apprenticeship programs to assist young people to enter into apprenticeship programs with links to post-secondary education and credentials.
The bill increases funding for the Youth Transitions to Work (YTTW) Partnership and requires that consortia which receive YTTW grants use at least 25 percent of the grants for pre-apprenticeship programs. The bill enhances the services provided to program participants by adding training in life skills, including communication, working in teams, and meeting employer expectations, training, including one-to-one tutoring in needed basic math and literacy skills, and supportive services in addition to those provided in current law. The bill requires the consortia to maximize participation not only by women and minority group members, but by individuals with disabilities as well.
Finally, the bill requires employers and other participants in the consortia, when selecting applicants to participate in their apprenticeship programs, to give first priority to applicants who have successfully completed the pre-apprenticeship programs and have met all other requirements for entering the apprenticeship programs.