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003.19.16-7. Workforce Readiness

AR ADC 003.19.16-7Arkansas Administrative CodeEffective: January 1, 2024

West's Arkansas Administrative Code
Title 003. Department of Commerce
Division 19. Economic Development Commission
Rule 16. Arkansas Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (Bead) Program
Effective: January 1, 2024
Ark. Admin. Code 003.19.16-7
003.19.16-7. Workforce Readiness
Currentness
<Emergency action effective Jan. 01, 2024.>
Applicants must explain their commitment to develop and use a highly skilled workforce by crafting workforce plans that guarantee the presence of appropriately skilled and certified workers. At a minimum, workforce development plans should explain the prospective applicant's approach to creating quality job opportunities with equal access for all Arkansans. These plans may include various elements, such as:
1. Forming industry partnerships with community colleges offering broadband-related courses, including via good faith agreements or letters of intent to train and hire recent Arkansan graduates as full-time employees.
2. Supporting the appropriate credentialing of workers who possess preexisting occupational training, certification, and licensure.
3. Creating quality jobs that offer benefit packages while fostering employee development and career advancement.
4. Establishing registered apprenticeships or similar joint workforce/management training programs that cater to the needs of all workers.
Applicants are required to provide documentation addressing the following:
1. The ways in which the prospective subgrantee will ensure the use of an appropriately skilled workforce, for example, through commitments to recruit new Arkansan graduates.
2. The steps that will be taken to ensure that all members of the project workforce will have appropriate credentials, for example, appropriate and relevant preexisting occupational training, certification, and licensure.
3. Whether the workforce is unionized.
4. Whether the workforce will be directly employed or whether work will be performed by a subcontracted workforce.
5. A list of entities that the proposed subgrantee plans to contract and subcontract with in carrying out the proposed work.
If the project workforce or any applicant, contractor, or subcontractor workforce is not unionized, applicants are also required to provide the following for the non-union workforce:
1. The job titles and size of the workforce full-time equivalent positions, including for contractors and subcontractors) required to carry out the proposed work over the course of the project and the entity that will employ each portion of the workforce.
2. For each job title required to carry out the proposed work (including contractors and subcontractors), a description of:
a. Safety training, certification, and/or licensure requirements (for example, Occupational Safety and Health Administration 10 and 30, confined space, traffic control, or other training as relevant depending on title and work), including whether there is a robust in-house training program with established requirements tied to certifications or titles.
b. Information on the professional certifications and/or in-house training in place to ensure that deployment is done at a high standard.

Credits

Adopted emergency effective Jan. 1, 2024.
Current with amendments received through February 15, 2024. Some sections may be more current, see credit for details.
Ark. Admin. Code 003.19.16-7, AR ADC 003.19.16-7
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