Workforce Development

Employment Training Panel

The Employment Training Panel is the state’s premier program supporting job creation and retention through training. ETP fulfills its mission by reimbursing the cost of employer-driven training for incumbent workers and funding training for unemployed workers, which is designed to help them re-enter the workforce. All courses are designed to increase efficiencies, enhance productivity, and reduce costs allowing the business to remain competitive in a global economy. The agency is funded by a special tax on California employers.

Who Qualifies for ETP

ETP focuses training delivery to California priority sectors providing industry-specific training for upskilling incumbent works and providing pathways for new entrants to priority sector career.

California’s priority sectors are identified by both ETP and California Community Colleges, informed by economic and employment data. These are the industries that drive the economy, having higher than average wages, representing California’s global competitiveness and emerging innovation and technology. Thus, El Camino College’s main focus is to serve these priority sectors.

To qualify under El Camino College’s ETP program, the business “must” fall within one of the following priority sectors:

1. Advanced Manufacturing
2. Aerospace & Defense Industries
3. Warehousing
4. Information
5. Accommodation, Food Services and Beverage Retailers
6. Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries
7. Finance and Insurance
8. Professional Services, Scientific, and Technical

Please Note:  “Priority Industry” sector designations may not apply to the entire sector.  Please contact us to see if your company qualifies.

The EMPLOYER meets ALL and UNDERSTANDS the following criteria and requirements:

• The Employer’s primary business is located in California Employees and they pay into the state’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) tax system.
• The employer’s turnover rate for the company cannot exceed ETP’s max rate of 20% annually.
• The Employer and Employee must be committed to completing 100% of the training program.
• The Employer pays employee’s wages while in training.
• The Employer must submit payroll documentation, as required by ETP, such as payroll stubs to verify a participant’s salary when requested.
• The employer must notify El Camino College Business Training Center immediately of any change in employment status of a participating employee while enrolled in the training program.
• The employer must verify employment status of participating employees after the required 90-day retention period.

The EMPLOYEE meets ALL and UNDERSTANDS the following criteria and requirements:

• All employees participating in training must be a full-time (minimum of 35 hours per week).
• The Employee must be a “frontline worker” who directly produce or deliver goods or services (i.e. production/operations, maintenance, leads, clerks, engineers, technicians, quality, supervisors, managers, etc.) Company executives are not eligible to receive funding reimbursement for training under ETP.
• All participating employees in training must meet the ETP minimum wage requirement of at least $22.66 per hour in Los Angeles County; $22.66 in Orange and San Diego Counties; $24.72 per hour in Alameda, Marin, San Mateo, Santa Clara and San Francisco counties; and $22.66 per hour in all other counties. An employer may add up to $2.50 of “employer paid” medical, dental, and vision benefits to an employee’s base wage to meet ETP’s minimum wage requirement. To calculate the hourly employer paid amount, take the employee’s total annual benefits paid and divide by 2080 hours in a normal year.
• Employees who participate in training must remain employed by the Employer 90 days after the end date of the last course taken within an ETP contract period with El Camino College.

Once the employer is “approved” to participate in El Camino College’s ETP program, they can enroll their employees in training in one of two ways:

1. The employer can have ETP training programs delivered directly to their company site. Courses are specifically customized to meet the company’s needs and training dates and times are created by the assigned instructor and employer. The minimum number of employees required to offer training at the company site range from 12 to 15.
2. Employer’s can enroll their employees in El Camino College’s new online courses eligible for ETP funding offset. This is very popular option for companies who only have a small number of employees to enroll in a course. In most cases, ETP helps offset up to 100% of the employee’s training cost for these courses. For advanced programs with higher associated costs, the employer may be required to pay a cost share per employee. All training is instructor led and live. The employer and employees must meet all ETP requirements listed above under Employer and Employee requirements above. The employer “must” be pre-approved by El Camino College and ETP before enrolling its employees in El Camino College’s new online program.