Those Who Can Do Teach: Businesses supporting education.

• Author: Orr, Vanessa
• Position: EDUCATION

Whether Alaskan students want a career in coding, to run high-tech mining equipment, work as a bank administrator, or transport goods across the country, having the proper education can play a huge part in their success. And considering that many of these students will stay in Alaska and work for local companies, it makes good business sense for these organizations to take part in the learning process.

This support can take a number of forms, from mentoring and internship opportunities to financial donations that establish scholarships and programs to facilitating classroom lectures. No matter how a business chooses to participate, schools value the partnerships that help them prepare the workforce of the future. And businesses also benefit from their involvement.

"We get as much out of our relationship with the Mat-Su School District as they get from us," says MTA Marketing Specialist Jessica Gilbert. "The staff provides a lot of great ideas, and it enables us to have a dialog with community members. By getting involved with students and empowering them with the technology they need, it creates more customers for us in the future and the opportunity to recruit really talented people from our own community."

While there are many positives associated with book learning, having industry experts come into the classroom gives students real-life perspectives. At Alaska Bible College located in Palmer, for example, members of the business community visit classes about once a month to share their experiences.

"We've had state senators come in to talk about politics, as well as financial leaders sharing insights on church management," says Ray Rose, vice president of Institutional Advancement at Alaska Bible College. "I believe that you need to have real-world people teaching students and not just academics,

"When you have teachers who have been there and done that, you get a totally different perspective," he adds. "Students often find that what they've read in books doesn't always work in the real world; it's good to hear from people who have been in the trenches. Partnering with the business community does this."

Creating a Curriculum

In many cases, businesses work not just with students but with school administrators to guarantee that every young scholar learns real-life business skills.

"We are highly connected to industry and partner with all sorts of businesses on the North Slope, including Arctic Slope Regional Corporation [ASRC] and...