Workforce Development

Center for Customized Training

Since 1997, Southern California businesses have benefited from exceptional employee training offered by the Center for Customized Training at El Camino College.

Training for Your Employees

Working with you, the Center for Customized Training will tailor courses to meet your objectives.

  • Years of industry experience
  • Unparalleled reputations
  • Outstanding industry credentials and certifications
  • Excellent client recommendations
  • Demonstrated ability to teach adult learners

View our 2024 Course Catalog

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
  3. Information/Communications Technologies (ICT/Digital)
  4. Green /Clean Technologies including Advanced Transportation Manufacturing
  5. Goods Movement/Transportation Logistics
  6. Media/Entertainment
  7. Allied Healthcare
  8. Life Science/Biotech
  9. Construction

ETP’s long-standing partnerships with community colleges across the state are critical to reaching employers and providing quality job training.”

Stewart Knox, Former Executive Director of the Employment Training Panel and Undersecretary of the Department of Labor

To Qualify for ETP funding, the EMPLOYER and their participating EMPLOYEES must meet ALL of the following criteria:

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.

Steps for Qualifying for El Camino College’s ETP program

If your company is interested in enrolling an employee in a professional development classes either online or at the company site, please follow these steps:

  1. Complete and sign ETP’s Certification Statement to participate in El Camino College’s training programs.  An example is provided here:  Sample Certification Statement . For the blank form, click here: Blank Certification Statement.
  2. Scan and email the completed and signed Certification Statement to Kimberly Watson at kwatson@elcamino.edu with a Cc: to Eldon Davidson, edavidson@elcamino.edu. The original copy is not needed.
  3. Once the Certification Statement (CS) is received, El Camino College will submit it to ETP for approval to determine your eligibility to participate in our training programs.
  4. If the company is approved for ETP funding, El Camino College will submit a training contract to review and sign.
  5. Once the contract is signed by all parties, then the company is eligible to enroll its employees for training.

Workforce Development FAQ

What Every Employer Should Know About the Services Provided by The Business Training Center’s Workforce Development Division

What is Workforce Development’s Mission?

The mission of our Workforce Development Division is to help local and regional employers meet their strategic goals of staying competitive, increasing productivity, and retaining highly skilled employees. We realize this mission by collaborating with businesses and government agencies to deliver responsive, workplace education and customized training programs that enhance the job skills and organizational commitment of employees.

Business Training CenterWhy Should I Consider The Business Training Center at El Camino College as a Solution Provider for Customized Workplace Education and Training?

Resources: We can leverage a vast network of subject matter experts, educators, and consulting professionals to deliver employee training programs that get results.

Agility: The Business Training Center’s Workforce Development Division is an agile, entrepreneurial unit that can quickly develop customized employee training solutions that meet your organization’s strategic business goals.

Access to Outstanding Trainers: You can expect results from our trainers who engage employees with relevant information, practical techniques, and industry examples. Our team of expert training professionals have years of industry experience coupled with unparalleled reputations, outstanding industry credentials and certifications, excellent client recommendations, and demonstrated ability to teach adult learners.

Funding: Our Workforce Development Division is a tremendous resource to help you find grants and funding sources that can help offset the cost of employee training programs. We are adept at securing and administer Employment Training Panel (ETP) funding— the state’s premier program that reimburses employers for the cost of training incumbent workers—on behalf of your organization. ETP programs help ensure that California businesses have the skilled workers they need to remain competitive in a global economy. Contact us to see if your business if eligible for ETP funding.

What Types of Employee Training Does Workforce Development Deliver?

Because of our vast resources and highly experienced subject matter experts, we can deliver training programs to any level of staff, from entry level to the “C” Suite. Our customized training programs range from advanced manufacturing, logistics, leadership development, computer applications, to customer service. By working in partnership with us, we can manage the critical resources required to quickly develop and deliver the training programs you need.

We offer fee-based, not-for-credit training programs, consulting, and technical services. We can assist you with applying for and administering state funding (ETP) that offsets the cost of training programs. Contact us for more information.

Where and When Is Training Delivered?

Customized employee training programs can be wherever it benefits your company and employees—on campus at the college or onsite at your facilities. We will work with you to deliver training programs at times that are optimal for your employees and your businesses’ production schedule.

Can Training Be Delivered to Organizations That Have Multiple Locations Across the State?

Yes. Because we are members of the California Community College Contract Education Collaborative (CCCCEC), we can leverage the workplace-specific training curriculum, subject matter experts, and training facilities of multiple community colleges to deliver a consistent, seamless employee training solution to organizations that have several locations across the state. Learn more about the California Community College Contract Education Collaborative.

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