(a) The governing board of each regional occupational center or program shall establish and maintain an employer advisory board or boards pursuant to guidelines developed by the department. The advisory board shall do all of the following:

(1) Assist in the development of skill certificates that identify the skills and knowledge that pupils completing an occupational course sequence are expected to acquire upon completing the sequence. The advisory board also shall recommend the measures and criteria, and methods to evaluate whether pupils actually acquired the identified skills and knowledge.

(2) Review at least once a year whether pupils who are assessed as having met the requirements for a skill certificate possess the skills needed for success in employment in that occupation.

(3) Review the specific occupational sequences offered by the regional occupational center or program to train pupils for jobs that are in demand and offer high beginning salaries or the potential for significant wage increase after several years on the job.

(4) Assist the regional occupational center or program in developing internships, paid summer employment, and postgraduation employment opportunities for pupils participating in the course sequences.

(5) Assist the regional occupational center or program in identifying and creating college scholarships for pupils participating in the course sequences.

(b) Employer advisory boards shall be composed of representatives of trade organizations and businesses or government agencies that hire a significant number of employees each year and require the skills and knowledge that are taught in the course sequence or sequences in that occupational area, as well as at least one representative from a school district career technical educational advisory committee. The department shall develop regulations guiding the establishment of these boards.

(c) Regional occupational centers or programs operated in a rural county of the sixth, seventh, or eighth class may designate a local business or industry organization as the advisory board and consult with the leadership of the local business or industry organization to determine skill needs in the region and emerging job market needs. For purposes of this section, the local business organization may be designated as the advisory board for the regional occupational center or program.

(Amended by Stats. 2009, Ch. 58, Sec. 1. (SB 640) Effective January 1, 2010.)