[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 8 (Friday, January 11, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2445-2446]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-00372]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Notice of Intent To Renew the Advisory Committee on 
Apprenticeship (ACA) Charter

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration (ETA), Labor.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Renew Charter.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary of Labor has determined that the renewal of a 
national advisory committee on apprenticeship is necessary and in the 
public interest. The Department of Labor intends to renew the ACA 
Charter with revisions. The revisions are not intended to change the 
purpose or the Committee's original intent. The revisions are a routine 
updating of the Charter to ensure closer alignment with the 
Department's strategic goals and priorities. The charter for the ACA 
will expire on January 31, 2013.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Registered Apprenticeship is a unique public 
private partnership that is highly dependent on the engagement and 
involvement of its stakeholders and partners for its ongoing 
operational effectiveness. Apart from the ACA, there is no single 
organization or group with the broad representation of labor, 
employers, and the public available to consider the complexities and 
relationship of apprenticeship activities to other training efforts or 
to provide advice on such matters to the Secretary and DOL officials. 
It is particularly important to have such considerations at this time 
in view of the current widespread and national interest in the role 
apprenticeship can play in providing career pathways for all 
populations in a range of high growth industries, including healthcare 
and manufacturing. For these reasons, the Secretary of Labor has 
determined that the renewal of a national advisory committee on 
apprenticeship is necessary and in the public interest. The ACA is 
being renewed to provide advice and recommendations to the Secretary on 
the following: (1) The development and implementation of policies, 
legislation and regulations affecting the national Registered 
Apprenticeship system; (2) strategies that can expand the use of the 
Registered Apprenticeship model in non-traditional industries such as, 
but not limited to manufacturing, energy, and healthcare; (3) ways to 
more effectively partner with the public workforce system and 
educational institutions and communities to leverage Registered 
Apprenticeship as a valued post secondary credential; (4) the 
development of career pathways that can lead to good jobs for everyone 
and sustained employment for new and incumbent workers, youth, 
veterans, women, minorities and other under-utilized and disadvantaged 
populations; and (5) efforts to improve performance, quality and 
oversight, and utilization of the national Registered Apprenticeship 
system.
    The current ACA Charter will expire on January 31, 2013. The ACA's 
Charter is required to be renewed every two

[[Page 2446]]

years. Since the Charter was last renewed in January 2011, it has been 
revised in five sections to ensure alignment with departmental 
priorities. The following five sections have been updated: (1) The 
Objectives and Scope of Activities section was streamlined to be more 
concise and in line with current priorities; (2) the Description of 
Duties section was reviewed and edited to more closely reflect the 
needs of the Department and the advice and recommendations sought from 
the ACA at this time; (3) the Estimated Annual Operating Costs and 
Staff Years section was modified to reflect the ongoing efforts by the 
Department to reduce overall operating costs associated with the ACA; 
(4) the Estimated Number and Frequency of Meetings section has been 
updated to reflect the increasing trend to utilize multiple meeting 
formats, including the use of the virtual meeting format, as well as to 
reduce the number of anticipated annual face-to-face meetings; and (5) 
the Membership and Designation section was changed to include a range 
rather than a number to provide the Secretary with additional 
flexibility to maintain committee balance and accommodate changes in 
membership due to retirements, member withdrawals, or resignations.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. John V. Ladd, Administrator, 
Office of Apprenticeship, Employment and Training Administration, U.S. 
Department of Labor, Room N-5311, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20210. Telephone: (202) 693-2796, (this is not a toll-
free number).

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 2nd day of January, 2013.
Jane Oates,
Assistant Secretary for the Employment and Training Administration.
[FR Doc. 2013-00372 Filed 1-10-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-FR-P