Apprentice Examinations And Professional Licenses

Current law requires an electrical or plumbing employer to register an apprentice with the respective governing board within 30 days after beginning employment. When an apprentice is no longer employed as an apprentice, the act requires an employer to remove each apprentice from the apprentice program and annually notify the applicable board of the termination of employment.

The act requires an employer, an apprenticeship program registered with the United States department of labor's employment and training administration, and a state apprenticeship council recognized by the United States department of labor that employs an apprentice in Colorado to track the number of practical training hours and, for electrician apprentices, the classroom hours of each apprentice and provide the information to the state electrical board or the state plumbing board, as applicable. The boards are required to keep this information confidential. If existing resources or gifts, grants, or donations are available, the boards must provide the reported information to the department's online apprenticeship directory.

Contingent on the availability of existing resources within the department or the receipt of gifts, grants, and donations, the act requires electrician apprentices and plumbing apprentices who have been registered with their respective boards for at least 6 years to take a license examination at least every 3 or 2 years, respectively, based on the registration renewal cycle, until the apprentice passes the examination. If an apprentice fails the examination, the apprentice may apply for an exemption from the examination requirement. The act allows an apprentice to request special accommodations to take the examination if the apprentice has a learning disability.

Subject to available funds, the department of regulatory agencies, in collaboration with the electrician and plumbing governing boards, industry stakeholders, examination proctors, national code organizations, apprenticeship training coordinators, and the department of labor and employment, is required to conduct research to determine what barriers exist to preparing for and taking the licensing examinations for apprentices for whom English is a second language and report its findings to the general assembly by January 1, 2021.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)