Educated Engineering and Construction Workers in Demand: Training options abound with vocational and apprenticeship programs, two- and four-year degrees.

• Author: Orr, Vanessa
• Position: Architecture & Engineering

There are plenty of reasons to enter the engineering or construction fields, especially in Alaska. While some sectors of the industry are experiencing a downturn, others remain in high demand, and in some instances companies are having trouble filling certain positions. Depending on one's area of focus, there are a number of training options available ranging from vocational and apprenticeship programs to two- and four-year college degrees.

AVTEC

The Alaska Vocational Technical Center (AVTEC) prepares students with career and technical skills in a number of areas including construction technology and industrial technology. "In our construction technology program, students learn all aspects of the trade--all the parts and pieces that an entry-level construction worker would need to walk onto the job and be a highly qualified candidate," explains AVTEC Director Cathy LeCompte of the program operated by the State of Alaska Department of Workforce & Development. "While we concentrate mainly on residential maintenance, some of our students have gone into commercial construction as well."

While some students enter the workforce directly after the ten-week course, others go on to apprenticeships or enroll in the Construction Management program at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA). Those who enroll in AVTEC's industrial electrical program, which teaches students computer programming and some pre-engineering, may also move on to higher-level learning.

"It's a very intensive, ten-month course where they learn hands-on disciplinary skills and are exposed to concepts that will suit them well in a university engineering program," says LeCompte.

The majority of AVTEC's students are between the ages eighteen and twenty-four and come directly from high school or have a couple of years of work experience. Students need to have a high school diploma or GED and are required to take an adult basic education assessment to enroll in AVTEC programs. "If a student is within a few points of the cut score, we will enroll them in our Foundations program to bring up their skill levels," says LeCompte.

Tuition varies, though an average ten-week program can cost between $10,000 and $18,000, including room and board. The diesel program is a little more expensive, as it includes a $6,000 toolkit.

"What really sets us apart is how we deliver the program; it's very intensive and hands-on and caters to kinesthetic learners," says LeCompte, adding that AVTEC has a fifteen-to-one student-to-faculty ratio. "Our full counseling staff, including a recreational specialist, work very...