The State Board of Community Colleges shall appoint an Apprenticeship Council composed of four representatives each from employer and employee organizations respectively and three representatives from the public at large. One State official designated by the Department of Public Instruction and one State official designated by the Department of Commerce shall be a member ex officio of the council, without vote. The terms of office of the members of the Apprenticeship Council shall be designated by the State Board. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term of his or her predecessor shall be appointed for the remainder of the term. Each member of the Council not otherwise compensated by public moneys, shall be reimbursed for transportation and shall receive such per diem compensation as is provided generally for boards and commissions under the biennial maintenance appropriation acts for each day spent in attendance at meetings of the Apprenticeship Council. The State Board of Community Colleges shall annually appoint one member of the Council to act as its chair.

The Apprenticeship Council shall meet at the call of the State Board of Community Colleges and shall aid the State Board and the Community Colleges System Office in formulating policies for the effective administration of this Article. The Apprenticeship Council shall establish standards for apprentice agreements which in no case shall be lower than those prescribed by this Article, shall recommend rules and regulations to the State Board of Community Colleges as may be necessary to carry out the intent and purposes of this Article, and shall perform other functions as the State Board of Community Colleges may direct. No later than September 1 of each year the Apprenticeship Council shall make a report through the Community Colleges System Office of its activities and findings to the public and to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee, the chairs of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Education/Higher Education, and the chairs of the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee on Education. ?(1939, c. 229, s. 2; 1973, c. 476, s. 138; 1977, c. 896; 2013-330, s. 2(c); 2017-57, ss. 14.1(o), 15.13(c); 2018-142, s. 13(b); 2019-165, s. 3.5.)