§ 6-55-107. Arkansas Construction Industry Craft Training Trust Fund — Apprenticeship program requirements

(a) The net proceeds received pursuant to § 6-55-106 shall be deposited into a special trust account in the State Treasury known as the “Arkansas Construction Industry Craft Training Trust Fund”.

(b) Programs established or funded by the fund shall be consistent with the eight (8) criteria recommended by the United States Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship. The eight (8) essential components of an approved apprenticeship program shall include all of the following:

1. (1) A training strategy that combines supervised, structural on-the-job training with related theoretical instruction and is sponsored by employers or labor or management groups that have the ability to hire and train in a work environment;

2. (2) A training strategy that prepares an individual for skilled employment by conducting training in bona fide and documented employment settings;

3. (3) A training strategy with requirements that are clearly delineated in federal laws and regulations, and state laws and rules;

4. (4) A training strategy that by virtue of a legal contract, indenture, leads to a certificate of completion and official journeyman status;

5. (5) A training strategy that involves a tangible and generally sizable investment on the part of the employer or labor or management program sponsor;

6. (6) A training strategy that pays wages to its participants at least during the on-the-job training phase of their apprenticeship and that increases these wages throughout the training program in accordance with a predefined wage progression scale;

7. (7) A training strategy in which participants learn by working directly under the supervision and tutelage of a master in the craft, trade, or relevant occupational area; and

8. (8) A training strategy that involves a written agreement and an implicit social obligation between the program sponsor and the apprentice.

(c) Upon the recommendation of the State Apprenticeship Coordination Steering Committee, the Office of Skills Development shall expend the moneys in the fund from time to time to support the training program prescribed in this chapter.