6. a. Each consortium which is awarded a grant from the partnership shall establish a pre-apprenticeship, or school-to-apprenticeship linkage program, for high school students, which shall include the development of the curriculum which will best prepare students to qualify for apprenticeships established under the grant, thus encouraging high school completion and increasing graduation rates. Grants may also be provided to a consortium pursuant to this section to create new pre-apprenticeship, or linkage, programs for existing apprenticeship programs. The pre-apprenticeship, or linkage program may include workplace experience, but not in violation of applicable child labor standards, and shall not involve any reduction of the classroom time of a participating student or of academic standards, other than reductions in classroom time mutually agreed to by all of the entities participating in the consortium pursuant to subsection a. of section 5 of P.L.1993, c.268 (C. 34:15E-5). The provisions of this section shall not be construed as prohibiting nontraditional scheduling of classroom time. If the pre-apprenticeship, or school-to-apprenticeship linkage, program includes a workplace experience component:

(1) The student shall be regarded as a student learner entitled to all of the benefits and services provided to student learners pursuant to P.L.1993, c.268 (C. 34:15E-1 et seq.);

(2) The workplace experience component of the student learner shall be regarded as a cooperative vocational experience subject to all applicable standards promulgated by the State Department of Education and the State Department of Labor and Workforce Development for cooperative vocational experiences, including requirements that work is under the direct supervision of a qualified person, and that the student learner be provided an individualized training plan outlining the tasks to be performed and the progression of learning experiences, and the safety instruction and occupational competencies to be learned; and

(3) Employers participating in the consortium who hire student learners shall do so based on recommendations of the students’ educational institutions which give consideration to the overall academic achievement of the students.

To the greatest extent permitted by federal law, a participating employer shall also consider the overall academic achievement of students when selecting apprentices under the grant.

b. Each pre-apprenticeship, or school-to-apprenticeship, linkage program shall include counseling, recruitment, training in life skills, including communication, working in teams, and meeting employer expectations, training in needed basic math and literacy skills, including one-to-one tutoring, and supportive services, including child care for student learners who are parents and transportation assistance, and other services as are needed to maximize program participation by women, minority-group members, and individuals with disabilities, who are economically disadvantaged individuals, have barriers to employment, or both. The objectives of these services shall include increasing the success of women in nontraditional employment and encouraging greater academic achievement among at-risk and other students.

c. Employers and other participants in a consortium, when selecting applicants to participate in their apprenticeship programs, shall give first priority to applicants who have successfully completed the pre-apprenticeship programs and have met all other requirements for entering the apprenticeship programs.

d. Each grant awarded to a consortium shall provide that not less than 25% of the grant funds be used for a pre-apprenticeship, or school-to-apprenticeship, linkage program established pursuant to this section.

L.1993,c.268,s.6; 2022, c.89, s.1.