What is ETP?

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ETP: Employment Training Panel.

ETP-Logo-ClearEstablished in 1982, the Employment Training Panel (ETP) has proven itself for more than 30 years as the state’s premier program supporting job creation and retention, through training. ETP is funded by a special tax on California employers and differs from other workforce development organizations whose emphasis is on pre-employment training. ETP fulfills its mission by reimbursing the cost of employer-driven training for incumbent workers and funding the type of training needed by unemployed workers to re-enter the workforce. Overall, the ETP program helps to ensure that California businesses will have the skilled workers they need to remain competitive.

Employers must be able to effectively train workers in response to changing business and industry needs. While the need for workforce training is critical, businesses generally reserve capacity building dollars for highly technical and professional occupations – limiting investment in training for frontline workers who produce goods and deliver services. ETP helps to fill this gap by funding training that is targeted to the frontline workers.

ETP funding works because it is predicated on simple and effective principles:

  • Employers Are Involved

    Employers make decisions about the training program. Employers are involved in every aspect of training. Companies assess their training needs, customize curricula to address the specific needs of their businesses, and implement and administer the training plan.

  • Training Investments = Profits

    Training investments help companies become more profitable, so companies are encouraged to share that profit with workers involved in training. ETP contracts promote wage increases and require employers to retain trained workers for specific periods in order to earn ETP funds.

  • Employers Assume Greater Responsibility

    Employers are encouraged to assume greater responsibility for training. ETP reimburses contractors based on flat rates. Companies must pay the difference between ETP reimbursement and their actual training costs. As training costs increase, companies pay a larger percentage of the costs.

  • Performance-Based Contracting Ensures Success

    Performance-based contracting helps to ensure success. A business may earn ETP funds only after a trainee completes all training and is retained for a minimum time period (normally 90 days) at a required wage, in a job using the skills learned in training. Other performance requirements ensure that each stakeholder – the company, the worker, and ETP – shares responsibility for expanding the numbers of high-wage, high-skill jobs in California.

  • Works As A Catalyst For Future Training

    ETP funding is a catalyst for future workforce training. Employers who participate in ETP-funded training are more likely to invest in future workforce training. The ETP experience provides them with the practical knowledge and tools to successfully implement a training plan.

ETP’s role in the economy is derived from its initial mandate in 1982 of moving large numbers of unemployed workers quickly into employment and saving the jobs of workers threatened with displacement. The program has expanded that role over the years to include an increased support of retraining incumbent workers of businesses in basic industries challenged by out-of-state competition (primarily the manufacturing and high technology sectors). Today, ETP focuses on supporting job creation and business attraction, retention, and expansion, as well as the re-employment and retention of workers.

The Panel uses an application process for those seeking funds. The first step in the process is completion of an orientation. For your convenience, you can now complete the orientation on-line by going to www.etp.ca.gov. The goal of the orientation is to help potential applicants determine whether they are eligible to apply for funding, to learn the most important requirements of the program, and to learn how to apply for funding click on Get Started.