Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Apprenticeship Program topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Amendment would let high-demand apprenticeship program itself sponsor apprentices, advocates say it will widen access
Summary
Senate Bill 180 would permit the High Demand Apprenticeship Program to act as a sponsor for apprentices rather than requiring each student to secure an individual employer sponsor; industry testimony argued the change would expand access to apprenticeship pathways.
Senator Dixon presented Senate Bill 180, a technical amendment to Georgia’s High Demand Apprenticeship Program that would allow the program or registered apprenticeship sponsors to serve as direct sponsors for apprentices rather than requiring each individual student to find an employer sponsor.
The bill amends the existing program, created by SB 379 (2022) and amended last year, to allow apprenticeship sponsors (including program administrators) to sponsor students and match them with multiple employers, a change the sponsor said would broaden access when students do not already have an employer connection.
"The only change to it is currently, you gotta have an employer sponsor and then you're linked up with your school. This would essentially...allow the high demand apprenticeship program to sponsor the student," Senator Dixon told the committee.
Industry witnesses supported the change. Masa Porak, CEO of Southern Electric Company and board member of the Independent Electrical Contractors Association, told the committee that registered apprenticeship programs combine classroom instruction with on-the-job training and are essential to employers’ ability to develop skilled workers. Porak described the IEC program’s combination of roughly 144 hours of classroom instruction per year and 2,000 on‑the‑job training hours annually as the pathway into licensure and business ownership for electricians.
Committee members asked about program duration and the 2027 statutory repeal date for the code section; Dixon said the change is intended to improve access while the program remains active and that the program sponsor definition in state code references US Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship registration. Governor’s floor leader and others asked whether union apprenticeship programs might be included; Dixon said the bill as drafted ties to the Technical College System of Georgia framework but that he was open to working further.
The bill was taken as a hearing‑only item; no final vote occurred. Testimony from electricians and contractor associations urged the committee to support the amendment on the grounds it would expand apprenticeship opportunities and reconnect students who lack direct employer contacts with a sponsoring program and a network of employers.
