As used in this chapter:

1. (a) “Department” means the Employment Development Department.

2. (b) “Employer” or “eligible employer” means any employer subject to Part 1 (commencing with Section 100) of Division 1, except any public entity, or any nonprofit organization which has elected an alternate method of financing its liability for unemployment insurance compensation benefits pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 801), or Article 6 (commencing with Section 821) of Chapter 3.

   Any public entity or nonprofit organization that has elected an alternate method of financing its liability for unemployment insurance compensation benefits pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 801), or Article 6 (commencing with Section 821) of Chapter 3, shall be deemed to be an employer only for purposes of placement of new hire trainees who received training as an incidental part of a training project designed to meet the needs of one or more private sector employers.

3. (c) “Eligible participant” means any person who, prior to beginning training or employment pursuant to this chapter, is any of the following:

   1. (1) Unemployed and has established an unemployment insurance claim in this state, or has exhausted eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits from this state within the previous 24 months.
   2. (2) Employed for a minimum of 90 days by his or her employer, or if employed for less than 90 days, met the conditions of paragraph (1) at the time of hire, had received a notice of layoff from the prior employer, or was employed by an employer for a period of not less than 90 days during the 180-day period prior to the employee’s current employment at the start of training with an eligible employer, as provided in subdivision (b). The panel may waive this requirement for trainees employed by a business locating or expanding operations in the state, provided it is part of a state and local economic development effort endeavoring to create or retain California jobs. The panel may also waive the requirement for up to 10 percent of the trainee population, if it determines a business meets standard funding requirements set out under subdivision (a) of Section 10200.
4. (d) “Executive director” means the executive director appointed pursuant to Section 10202.
5. (e) “Fund” means the Employment Training Fund created by Section 1610.
6. (f) “Job” means employment on a basis customarily considered full time for the occupation and industry. The employment shall have definite career potential and a substantial likelihood of providing long-term job security, with reportable California earnings during the employment retention period. Furthermore, the employment shall provide earnings, upon completion of the employment requirement specified in subdivision (f) of Section 10209, equal to 50 percent, in the case of new hire training, or 60 percent, in the case of retraining, of the state or regional average hourly wage. However, in no case shall the employment result in earnings of less than 45 percent of the state average hourly wage for new hire training and 55 percent of the state average hourly wage for retraining. The panel may consider the dollar value of health benefits that are voluntarily paid for by an employer when computing earnings to meet the minimum wage requirements.
7. (g) “New hire training” means employment training, including job-related literacy training, including soft skills, for persons who, at the start of training, are unemployed.
8. (h) “Panel” means the Employment Training Panel created by Section 10202.
9. (i) “Retraining” means employment-related skills and literacy training, including soft skills, for persons who are employed and who meet the definition of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) prior to commencement of training and will continue to be employed by the same employer for at least 90 days following completion of training.

10. (j) “Soft skills” means behaviors and competencies to allow people to navigate professional environments, work well with colleagues, and perform up to standards for professional success, including, but not limited to, all of the following:

    1. (1) Social skills, including, but not limited to, respectful personal interactions, context appropriate behavior, and conflict resolution.
    2. (2) Competency in oral, written, nonverbal, and listening skills.
    3. (3) Problem solving, critical thinking, and decisionmaking skills, including, but not limited to, identifying issues and evaluating options in order to reach a reasonable conclusion.
    4. (4) Self-regulation of behavior and the exercise of delayed gratification or directing focus or attention, or both.
11. (k) “State average hourly wage” means the average weekly wage paid by employers to employees covered by unemployment insurance, as reported to the Employment Development Department for the four calendar quarters ending June 30 of the preceding calendar year, divided by 40 hours.
12. (l) “Trainee” means an eligible participant.
13. (m) “Training agency” means any private training entity or local educational agency.