(a) As used in this Article:

(1) “Apprenticeship agreement” means a written agreement between an apprentice and either his or her employer or an apprenticeship committee or sponsor acting as agent for employers, which agreement satisfies the requirements of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 115D-11.11

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(2) “Apprenticeship committee” means those persons designated by the sponsor, and approved by the Apprenticeship Council, to act for it in the administration of the apprenticeship program. A committee may be “joint,” i.e., it is composed of an equal number of representatives of the employer and of the employees represented by a bona fide collective bargaining agent and has been established to conduct, operate, or administer an apprenticeship program and enter into apprenticeship agreements with apprentices. A committee may be “unilateral” or “nonjoint” which shall mean a program sponsor in which employees or a bona fide collective bargaining agent is not a party.

(3) “ApprenticeshipNC” means the statewide apprenticeship program administered by the Community Colleges System Office in accordance with this Article.

(4) “Apprenticeship program” means a plan containing all terms and conditions for the qualification, recruitment, selection, employment, and training of apprentices, including such matters as the requirement for a written apprenticeship agreement.

(5) “Employer” means any person, firm, corporation, or organization employing an apprentice whether or not such person, firm, corporation, or organization is a party to an apprenticeship agreement with the apprentice.

(6) “Sponsor” means any person, firm, corporation, organization, association, or committee operating an apprenticeship program and in whose name the apprenticeship program is approved.

(b) An apprenticeship committee may be appointed by the Apprenticeship Council in any trade or group of trades in a city or trade area, whenever the apprentice training needs of the trade or group of trades justifies such establishment.

(c) The function of the apprenticeship committee, or sponsor when there is no apprenticeship committee, shall be to cooperate with school authorities in regard to the education of apprentices; in accordance with the standards set up by the apprenticeship committee for the same trade or group of trades, where a committee has been appointed, to work in an advisory capacity with employers and employees in matters regarding schedule of operations, application of wage rates, and working conditions for apprentices and to specify the number of apprentices which shall be employed locally in the trade under the apprenticeship agreements under this Article; to adjust apprenticeship disputes, subject to the approval of the Director; to ascertain the prevailing rate for journeymen in the city or trade area and specify the graduated scale of wages applicable to apprentices in the trade in that area; to ascertain employment needs in the trade or group of trades and specify the appropriate current ratio of apprentices to journeymen; and to make recommendations for the general good of apprentices engaged in the trade or trades represented by the committee. An apprenticeship committee may appoint a representative and delegate to the representative the authority for implementation and performance of any standards adopted by the committee pursuant to any of the aforementioned functions. (1939, c. 229, s. 5; 1979, c. 673, s. 3; 2017-57, s. 15.13(c).)