1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to workforce development; establishing a youth skills training program; 
1.3 	requiring reports; appropriating money;proposing coding for new law in Minnesota 
1.4 	Statutes, chapter 175.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. [175.46] YOUTH SKILLS TRAINING PROGRAM.
1.7 		Subdivision 1.Program established. The commissioner shall administer a youth skills 
1.8 	training program established for the purpose of providing work-based skills training for 
1.9 	student learners ages 16 and 17. The commissioner shall award grants to local partnerships 
1.10 	for the implementation and coordination of local youth skills training programs as provided 
1.11 	in this section.
1.12 		Subd. 2.Definitions. (a) For purposes of this section, the terms in this subdivision have 
1.13 	the meanings given.
1.14 	(b) "Local partnership" means one or more school districts, or any combination of one 
1.15 	or more school districts, other public agencies, nonprofit organizations, or individuals who 
1.16 	have agreed to be responsible for implementing and coordinating a local youth skills training 
1.17 	program.
1.18 	(c) "Public agency" means a city, county, town, school district, postsecondary institution, 
1.19 	or the administrative entity of a local workforce development area.
1.20 	(d) "Student learner" means a student who is employed on a part-time basis to obtain 
1.21 	both academic credit and employment training under a youth skills training program approved 
1.22 	under this section and the employment is subject to a written agreement, which provides 
1.23 	that:
2.1 	(1) the work of the student learner in the occupations declared particularly hazardous 
2.2 	shall be incidental to the training;
2.3 	(2) the work shall be intermittent and for short periods of time, and under the direct and 
2.4 	close supervision of a qualified and experienced person;
2.5 	(3) safety instruction shall be given by the school and correlated by the employer with 
2.6 	on-the-job training; and
2.7 	(4) a schedule of organized and progressive work processes to be performed on the job 
2.8 	shall have been prepared.
2.9 		Subd. 3.Duties. (a) In administering the youth skills training program, the commissioner 
2.10 	is responsible for:
2.11 	(1) establishing guidelines and standards for the program, including approval of 
2.12 	occupations and maintenance of a list of approved occupations for the program;
2.13 	(2) issuing requests for proposals for grants;
2.14 	(3) working with individuals representing industry and labor to develop new youth skills 
2.15 	training program areas;
2.16 	(4) approving the statewide program curricula for approved occupations;
2.17 	(5) monitoring youth skills training programs;
2.18 	(6) providing technical assistance to local partnership grantees;
2.19 	(7) other activities as necessary to implement the program; and
2.20 	(8) providing a path for receiving postsecondary credit for participation in the youth 
2.21 	skills training program.
2.22 	(b) The commissioner shall collaborate with stakeholders, including, but not limited to, 
2.23 	representatives of postsecondary institutions, business, and labor, in developing the youth 
2.24 	skills training program.
2.25 		Subd. 4.Interaction with child labor laws. The commissioner shall grant an exemption 
2.26 	from any provisions of chapter 181A for the student learners participating in training 
2.27 	programs for occupations approved by the commissioner under this section, including, but 
2.28 	not limited to, provisions relating to hazardous occupations, time of day, and maximum 
2.29 	hours.
2.30 		Subd. 5.Other apprenticeship programs. (a) The youth skills training program under 
2.31 	this section shall not affect any apprenticeship program that is governed by section 124D.47.
3.1 	(b) A registered apprenticeship program governed by chapter 178 may grant credit 
3.2 	toward the completion of a registered apprenticeship for the successful completion of a 
3.3 	youth skills training program under this section.
3.4 		Subd. 6.Applications. (a) Applications must be made to the commissioner on a form 
3.5 	provided by the commissioner.
3.6 	(b) A local partnership shall include in its grant application:
3.7 	(1) the identity of each public agency, nonprofit organization, or individual who is a 
3.8 	participant in the local partnership;
3.9 	(2) a plan to accomplish the implementation and coordination of activities specified in 
3.10 	subdivision 7; and
3.11 	(3) the identity of a fiscal agent responsible for receiving, managing, and accounting of 
3.12 	the grant.
3.13 		Subd. 7.Grant awards. A local partnership awarded a grant under this section may use 
3.14 	the grant award for any of the following implementation and coordination activities:
3.15 	(1) recruiting employers to provide on-the-job training and supervision for student 
3.16 	learners and providing technical assistance to those employers;
3.17 	(2) recruiting students to participate in the local youth skills training program and 
3.18 	monitoring the progress of student learners participating in the program;
3.19 	(3) coordinating youth skills training activities within participating school districts and 
3.20 	among participating school districts, postsecondary institutions, and employers;
3.21 	(4) coordinating academic, vocational and occupational learning, school-based and 
3.22 	work-based learning, and secondary and postsecondary education for participants in the 
3.23 	local youth skills training program; and
3.24 	(5) any other implementation or coordination activity that the commissioner may direct 
3.25 	or permit the local partnership to perform.
3.26 		Subd. 8.Grant amounts. The maximum grant awarded may not exceed $........ per 
3.27 	student learner. A local partnership that is awarded a grant shall provide matching funds 
3.28 	equal to 50 percent of the grant amount awarded.
3.29 		Subd. 9.Outcomes. The following outcomes are expected of a local youth skills training 
3.30 	program:
4.1 	(1) at least 80 percent of the student learners who participate in the program for two 
4.2 	years must receive a high school diploma on completion of the training period; and
4.3 	(2) at least 60 percent of the student learners who participate in the program for two 
4.4 	years must be offered employment by the employer that provided the on-the-job training 
4.5 	for the student learner on completion of the training period.
4.6 		Subd. 10.Reporting. (a) Beginning in 2018, the commissioner shall annually by February 
4.7 	1 report on the activity and outcomes of the program for the preceding fiscal year to the 
4.8 	chairs of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over jobs and economic growth policy 
4.9 	and finance. At a minimum, the report must include:
4.10 	(1) the number of student learners who commenced the training program and the number 
4.11 	who completed the training program; and
4.12 	(2) recommendations, if any, for changes to the program.
4.13 	(b) The initial report shall include a detailed description of the differences between the 
4.14 	state and federal systems in child safety standards.

4.15 	Sec. 2. YOUTH SKILLS TRAINING PROGRAM; APPROPRIATION.
 4.16 	$500,000 is appropriated in fiscal year 2018 from the workforce development fund to 
4.17 	the commissioner of labor and industry to implement the youth skills training program under 
4.18 	Minnesota Statutes, section 175.46. The commissioner shall award up to five grants to local 
4.19 	partnerships located throughout the state, not to exceed $......... per local partnership grant. 
4.20 	The commissioner may expend up to five percent of this appropriation for administration 
4.21 	of the program.