School-to-business partnerships give students link to Alaska jobs: with 43,000 new jobs on the horizon, today's students need to be prepared to fill these positions.

• Author: O'Claray, Greg
• Position: Education

With construction of a natural as pipeline approaching reality, economists predict 43,000 new jobs will be added to Alaska's economy in the decade ending in 2012.

The administration of Gov. Frank H. Murkowski is committed to making sure Alaskan students graduate from high school, vocational training or college with the qualifications needed to fill these jobs-whether in traditional sectors, such as construction or tourism, or in emerging fields, such as health sciences or transportation logistics.

Approximately half of these new jobs will require a four-year college degree, leaving traditional college-prep classroom tracks a good option for students to follow.

But many of these new jobs will demand students who leave high school prepared to begin careers as apprentices or trainees-particularly in the fields of transportation, construction and resource extraction.

Across the state, schools are standing out in their innovative drive to prepare students for the jobs Alaska's economy is expected to bring.

A NEW DIRECTION

In Fairbanks, for example, the James T. Hutchison High School opened with a focus on technical and career education. Don't look for traditional wood shop or auto shop classes. Instead, students enroll in carpentry, architectural drafting, small engines-motorcycle/ ATV or medical terminology, taught in state-of-the-art facilities with professional equipment.

"We're trying to repackage secondary education in a way that is meaningful to kids and also aligned with real-world opportunities," said Principal Bill McLeod.

To meet this goal, Hutchison actively seeks school-to-business partnerships, an education reform the governor strongly supports. "School-to-business partnerships work. Knowing how knowledge and skills learned in school can translate into a job helps young people understand the reason for staying in school and working hard," Murkowski said.

"In 2004, I signed a bill that gives schools the largest dollar increase ever to the school-funding formula. We have made that investment because I believe in our future, our children and our state. But we know that a quality education means more than money," he said.

Many of Alaska's technical high schools organize their instruction around "career clusters," which have been established by a national organization.

According to the organization's Web site (www.careerclusters.org), career clusters are a group of 16 occupations and broad industries that provide an organizing tool for...