Industrial Hands-on Training as a Path to Prosperity: Available jobs outpace qualified applicants in some sectors.

AuthorMottl, Judy
PositionEDUCATION

Alaska's employment rate may be on the decline, but there are still more than a few job hot spots within the state's industrial segments and a slew of hands-on training and educational programs to help job hunters become qualified for these often high-demand, high-pay positions.

Career opportunities abound in many non-construction occupations--from truck drivers and mechanics to pipeline welders and diesel technicians, to name just a few--and hands-on training and educational providers are at the ready with required courses, certifications, and skill-building programs.

The overall industrial employment scenario, for job seekers and training providers, will likely get brighter given the average age of a journeyman in Alaska is now above fifty--and that translates to a greater demand for skilled industrial workers in the next decade.

That's encouraging news for job candidates seeking that first paycheck out of high school, facing a mid-life career change, or those whose jobs are vanishing due to Alaska's current economic climate.

The Many, Many Hands-on Training Options

Today's industrial job seekers have a diverse list of hands-on training and educational options from which to choose. The list includes higher education, such as University of Alaska Anchorage's (UAA) Community & Technical College; private sector training from providers such as Northern Industrial Training and Alaska Vocational Technical Center (AVTEC); as well as occupational programs offered by the Fairbanks Alaska Area Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 375.

Yet the list is not as hearty as it once was, acknowledges Denise Runge, dean of UAA's Community & Technical College.

"There has been some contraction of training opportunities, primarily due to declining state budgets and subsequent declines in support for the wide variety of organizations that provide such training, from K-12 to the University of Alaska system to the various community and rural training centers," she says.

"With very careful planning and resource reallocation, we have been able to preserve the number of classes offered and have been able to maintain and, in some cases, even make modest upgrades to some of the needed equipment."

Joel Condon, director of the Community & Technical College's building technology division, believes cuts are inevitable if funding isn't shored up. "We have been fighting to maintain current educational opportunities for Alaskans, but it is becoming an increasingly difficult task," he says. "With further cuts, it will be increasingly difficult to maintain existing educational resources."

But others in the hands-on educational segment are seeing...

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