Preparing for the Unexpected: Occupational and survival training for Alaska's workforce.

• Author: Kvapil, Rachael

Survival training sounds ominous for workers who simply want to ply their trade in Alaska.

Which is why Learn to Return owner Brian Horner no longer refers to his service as survival training and has rebranded his company as LTR Training Systems.

The term "occupational training" better describes the specialized scenarios developed for each industry he works with, Horner says, as defined by US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards. Lessons include scenarios with uncontrollable variables that students will face while on the job, like bad weather, aggressive wildlife, an emotional fellow employee having a bad day, or someone else making an unsafe decision.

"It's easier to stay out of trouble than get you out of trouble," says Horner. "Preparation is a big part of occupational training. Introducing people to intense scenarios and desensitizing them to those moments prevents them from panicking should a problem arise."

LTR has provided occupational training for the Federal Aviation Administration, US Drug Enforcement Administration and other law enforcement agencies, and Alaska energy and telecom companies.

Other companies handle training internally. Udelhoven Oilfield System Services uses third-party trainers for a small fraction of employee prep, according to corporate safety manager Brad Hill. As a general contractor providing specialized fabrication, construction, and maintenance support for Cook Inlet and North Slope oil field development, Hill says Udelhoven employees receive occupational training that applies specifically to the job they regularly perform.

"All our workers receive OSHA health and safety training that includes chemical safety, hazard identification, fall protection, fire prevention, and more," says Hill. "Additional training like excavation safety and respiratory protection depends on their actual position."

A bit more intense than "here's where the coffee pot is" training at the average workplace, but then again, whatever the training is called, survival is at stake.

Far From Medical Care

The menu of courses at LTR in Anchorage includes Confined Space Entry and Rescue, Helicopter Underwater Egress, and Wilderness Safety Leader for bear guards. Classes run through scenarios for plane crashes, sinking ships, and cold weather survival. During an 8-hour training day, students might be dunked in a pool, flipped over in a crash simulator, or face down a row of grizzly-shaped targets.

Medical training is...