Work-Based Learning Guidance and Resources

"Work-based learning" means an educational approach or instructional methodology that uses the workplace or real work to provide pupils with the knowledge and skills that will help them connect school experiences to real-life work activities and future career opportunities. When feasible, work-based learning should be an integral part of a more comprehensive program that integrates academic courses and career technical education (CTE).

High-quality work-based learning may include, but is not limited to, any of the following:

1. Emphasis on learning in the workplace.
2. Exposure to a wide range of career areas and worksites in order to help youth make informed choices about education, training options, and career pursuits.
3. Thoughtful placement of pupils into opportunities that are evaluated for their safety, qualified supervision, and learning opportunities.
4. Appropriate sequencing of experiences based upon the pupil's age and maturity, ranging from site visits and tours, job shadowing, unpaid and paid internships, and paid work experience.
5. Explicit aim to supplement, or systematically reinforce, classroom instruction in technical courses, academic courses, or both.
6. Systematic attention to the development of 21st century skills, such as communication, problem solving, teamwork, project planning, and critical thinking.
7. A trained mentor who structures the learning at the worksite.
8. Coordination between the classroom teacher and the workplace mentor or supervisor.
9. Built-in regular assessment and feedback.
10. Involvement of youth in choosing and structuring the experience
11. Clear and measurable learning outcomes.

School districts are encouraged to work with local workforce investment board youth councils and workforce investment boards to maximize the use of available resources for youth employment opportunities by coordinating work-based learning opportunities and facilitating work-based learning regional planning. Please refer to Education Code Section 51760.1 .

Work-based learning (WBL) connects school experiences to career awareness, exploration, preparation, and training. WBL prepares students for future career opportunities. WBL is an integral aspect of CTE pathway curriculum and instruction and is included in the 300-hour requirement for all pathway completers.

Career Technical Education Student Leadership

Career Technical Education Student Leadership is an integral aspect of high quality CTE. Career Technical Student Organizations (CTSO) provide opportunities for students to engage in leadership curriculum and activities at state and national levels. CTE Student Leadership is defined by the following characteristics: (a) leadership curriculum is integrated into the classroom content; (b) annually elects student officers; (c) has a constitution and bylaws; (d) conducts monthly meetings; (e) is part of the classroom grade; (f) includes community service activities; (g) engages students in activities outside the local school; and (h) provides opportunities for students to participate in statewide and/or national events. (Federal Perkins V State Plan 202-23, Pg 69.)

• California Workforce Pathways Joint Advisory Committee (CWPJAC)
• Student Leadership Organizations

Internship

An internship or work experience is a planned, structured learning experience that takes place in a workplace for a limited period of time. Internships and other work experience may be paid or unpaid, as appropriate and consistent with other laws, such as the Fair Labor Standards Act. An internship or other work experience may be arranged within the private for-profit sector, the non-profit sector, or the public sector. Labor standards apply in any work experience setting where an employee/employer relationship, as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act, exists. Transitional jobs are a type of work experience, as described in §§ 680.190 and 680.195. For additional information, please refer to the Federal Register (WIOA sec. 134(c)(2)(A)(xii)(VII),) .

An internship teaches students occupation-specific skills. Local education agencies (LEAs) and employers work together to monitor student progress and ensure safety and success. Internship programs can be embedded in CTE pathways or offered through Work Experience Education (WEE) programs. Internships must connect to a course and instructor to be included as a metric for the College/Career Indicator (CCI).

• Fair Labor Standards Act Internships Fact Sheet

Job Shadow

"Job shadowing experience" means a visit to a workplace for the purpose of career exploration for no less than three hours and no more than 25 hours in one semester, intersession, or summer school session. Education Code Section 51796(b) .

Job shadowing is a WBL activity defined by a visit to a workplace for the purpose of career exploration. Job shadowing exposes students to different types of jobs and work environments.

Mentorship

Mentorship is defined as a formal relationship between a youth participant and an adult mentor that includes structured activities where the mentor offers guidance, support, and encouragement to develop the competence and character of the mentee; and while group mentoring activities and mentoring through electronic means are allowable as part of the mentoring activities, at a minimum, the local youth program must match the youth with an individual mentor with whom the youth interacts on a face-to-face basis.

Mentoring may include workplace mentoring where the local program matches a youth participant with an employer or employee of a company.

• (WIOA LAW §129(c)(2) 20 CFR § 681.)

A mentorship is a relationship between an experienced professional (mentor) and an aspiring or junior professional (mentee) for the purpose of sharing experience, knowledge, and connections within a certain field.

Registered Pre-Apprenticeship Program (Pre-RAP)

Programs applying for registered preapprenticeship status should refer to California Labor Code § 3100 for guidance.

Preapprenticeship:

1. A program seeking approval as a preapprenticeship program shall submit to the Division of Apprenticeship Standards a request for approval, on a form developed by the division.
2. The request for approval shall include documentation evidencing that the program's preapprenticeship training activities are conducted in partnership with one or more apprenticeship programs approved by the Division of Apprenticeship Standards. Valid documentation for purposes of this section shall include a copy of a memorandum of understanding or other formal written agreement that does all the following:
   1. Verifies the apprenticeship program's support for the preapprenticeship program.
   2. Gives priority but not a guarantee to preapprenticeship graduates for acceptance into the apprenticeship program.
   3. Makes a commitment as to the number of preapprenticeship graduates that may be accepted into the apprenticeship program.

To qualify for approval, a preapprenticeship program shall include the following elements:

1. Training and curriculum based on industry standards and approved by the documented registered apprenticeship program partner or partners that will prepare individuals with the skills and competencies needed to enter one or more registered apprenticeship programs.
2. Strategies that increase registered apprenticeship opportunities for underrepresented, disadvantaged, or low-skilled individuals, such that, upon completion, those individuals will meet the entry requirements, gain consideration, and be prepared for success in one or more registered apprenticeship programs. These strategies include any of the following:
   1. Strong recruitment efforts focused on outreach to populations underrepresented in local, state, and national registered apprenticeship programs.
   2. Educational and prevocational services that prepare individuals to meet the entry requisites of one or more registered apprenticeship programs, such as specific career and industry awareness workshops, job readiness courses, English for speakers of other languages, adult basic education, financial literacy seminars, and mathematics tutoring.
   3. Exposing participants to local, state, and national registered apprenticeship programs and providing direct assistance to participants applying to those programs.
   4. Facilitating access to appropriate support services during both the preapprenticeship program and a significant portion of the registered apprenticeship program.
   5. Efforts to sustain the ongoing partnership between the preapprenticeship program and registered apprenticeship program partner or partners, including collaborative efforts that promote alignment with the California Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Unified Strategic Workforce Development Plan and use of the registered apprenticeship program as a preferred means for employers to develop a skilled workforce and create career opportunities for individuals.
   6. Providing physical preparedness training for jobs where physical ability and endurance are key elements of success.
   7. Providing training on safe working practices where applicable to the job.
   8. Providing hands-on training to individuals in a simulated lab experience or through volunteer opportunities that accurately simulate industry and occupational conditions while observing proper supervision and safety protocols, provided that such experience and opportunities do not supplant or reduce the compensable work of paid employees.
   9. Providing for automatic acceptance or priority credits for acceptance into apprenticeship programs of individuals who have successfully completed the preapprenticeship program, and when applicable, giving advance credit in the apprenticeship program for skills and competencies already acquired in the preapprenticeship program.

Preapprenticeship programs shall be evaluated and approved based on a determination of the strengths of the elements described in subdivision (c), as demonstrated in the application.

Approval of a preapprenticeship program shall expire in three years unless the program requests and obtains renewal of its approval by the division. Renewed approval shall be based on the program's success in implementing the elements described in subdivision (c).

• Register a California Pre-Apprenticeship Program
• Find a California Pre-Apprenticeship Program

Registered Youth Apprenticeship Program (RYAP)

A Registered Youth Apprenticeship is a RYAP serving individuals sixteen to twenty-four (16-24). RYAP programs may offer flexible implementation models and begin during high school. “A RYAP must include paid, on-the-job training (OJT), related and supplemental instruction (RSI), and an industry-recognized credential or certificate of completion. combine academic and technical classroom instruction with work experience through an apprenticeship program. It provides the foundation for youth to choose among multiple pathways – to enroll in college, begin full-time employment, or a combination."

• United States Department of Labor Apprenticeship Resources
• California Division of Apprenticeship Standards Youth Apprenticeship Resources

Student-led Enterprise

Student-led Enterprise involves the development and operation of a revenue-generating business (regardless of profit or loss). Student-Led Enterprise can occur across all 15 CTE industry sectors and can also occur in non-CTE electives, or academic programs.

Work Experience Education

Work Experience Education (WEE) is a work-based learning course of study that offers internships and on-the-job experience combined with instruction in critical workplace skills. WEE prepares students to excel in the workplace and incorporates the elements of high-quality work-based learning in its implementation. It must be connected to occupational goals and outcomes. Education Code Section 51760.1

• For more Information on Child Labor Law Regulation: Child Labor Laws (PDF)
• Internship Programs Under The Fair Labor Standards Act
• Frequently Asked Questions About Youth Employment

California Career Resource Network (CalCRN)

The CalCRN program in the California Department of Education provides free resources to support career-related research, assessment, and planning.

College/Career Indicator

The College/Career Indicator (PDF) in the California School Dashboard shows how well LEAs and schools are preparing high school students for success after graduation, whether in postsecondary education or in a career. Career readiness means completing rigorous coursework and engaging in learning experiences that are designed to prepare students for the workforce.

• Work-Based Learning Measures for the CCI

WorkAbility 1

The WorkAbility 1 (WA1) program provides comprehensive pre-employment skills training, employment placement and follow-up for high school students in special education who are making the transition from school to work, independent living, and postsecondary education or training. Program services are appropriate to individual student needs, abilities, and interests.

Additional Resources

• Career and College Transition Division Continuum of Work Based Learning
• CTE Industry Sectors
• CTE Programs