(a) The council is comprised of thirteen members selected as follows:

(1) Eight members appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate:

(A) One member shall be appointed from each community and technical college consortia district as established in this section.

(B) Prior to appointment, the Governor shall interview each candidate to assure that the person selected understands and is committed to achieving the goals and objectives as set forth in the institutional compacts and in section one-a, article one of this chapter. The Governor shall invite the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Delegates, the chairs of the Senate and House of Delegates committees on finance and education and such other legislative leaders as the Governor may determine to participate in interviewing potential candidates. Each member appointed to the council by the Governor shall represent the public interest and shall be committed to the legislative intent and goals set forth in section one-a, article one of this chapter.

(2) The chairperson of the West Virginia workforce investment council;

(3) The executive director of the West Virginia Development Office, or designee;

(4) The president of the West Virginia AFL-CIO, or a designee;

(5) The chair of the Higher Education Policy Commission who serves as an ex officio, nonvoting member of the council; and

(6) The assistant superintendent for technical and adult education of the state Department of Education who serves as an ex officio, nonvoting member of the council;

(b) Any appointed member shall be a citizen of the state, shall represent the public interest and shall understand and be committed to achieving the goals and objectives set forth in section one-a, article one of this chapter, the essential conditions set forth in article three-c of this chapter, and the goals for secondary and post-secondary vocational-technical- occupational and adult basic education in the state. Any appointed member shall represent the interests of the business, labor and employer communities and demonstrate knowledge of the education needs of the various regions, attainment levels and age groups within the state.

(c) The Governor may not appoint any person to be a member of the council who is an officer, employee or member of an advisory board of any state college or university, the holder of any other public office or public employment under the government of this state or any of its political subdivisions, an appointee or employee of any governing board or an immediate family member of any employee under the jurisdiction of the commission or any governing board. An individual may not serve on the council who is engaged in providing, or employed by a person or company whose primary function is to provide, workforce development services and activities.

(d) Members of the council serve for staggered terms of four years. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (1), subsection (a) of this section, on the effective date of this section any current member of the council maintains his or her appointment to the council and continues to serve for the remainder of the term for which originally appointed. Any additional appointment required by the provisions of said subdivision shall represent a consortia district not otherwise represented on the council.