Alaska construction academies: building a workforce: empowering employers and students alike.

• Author: Gallion, Mari
• Position: CONSTRUCTION

Most people don't need a statistician to show them that our prevailing economic climate is changing. While 25 years ago it was believed that a bachelor's degree was a ticket to financial stability and a graduate degree guaranteed riches, the parents of today's students have seen enough fluctuations in the economy to know that to stay above water in changing times requires diversifying one's skill sets.

Along those lines, employers are seeing that many people entering the work force, including college graduates, are lacking work skills as basic as punctuality, communication, and assuming a subordinate role in a chain of command.

Alaska Construction Academies is a beneficial resource for students who would like a career in the trades as well as employers who are seeking trained and qualified local workers. The purpose of the Academies is for agencies to combine resources to attract and thoroughly train both young people and adults and connect them to first jobs in construction and trade apprenticeship programs.

According to Kathleen Castle, executive director of AkCA, labor market data shows that more than 1,000 new construction workers are needed in Alaska each year for several years to meet construction job growth and to replace retiring workers, and AkCA has designed programs to help ensure that their graduates are labor-ready.

Data from a 2010 survey conducted by the Construction Education Foundation shows exactly what qualifications Alaskan construction companies are looking for in their employees that go beyond constructions skills: Math skills (including math that directly relates to the construction industry), reading comprehension, blueprint reading, punctuality, work ethic, clean driving record, great professional communication skills and the importance of a good attitude--attributes that have become part of the AkCA curriculum.

Best of all, pending application, interview, selection and drug screen, the classes at AkCA are offered at no cost to the student. As space is limited, only the best applicants are accepted and graduated. Employers who hire graduates of the AkCA can know they are getting the cream of the crop.

What? How?

According to the AkCA website, "In 2006 the Legislature awarded a $1M grant to the Anchorage School District and the Alaska Works Partnerships Inc. to implement the project, with the goal of serving 200 youth and adults within the year."

Thus, Alaska Construction Academy was the result of the combined...