Construction academy aims to curb worker shortage

Juneau will soon offer more free classes for students and adults interested in construction jobs as part of a statewide effort to increase the number of in-state skilled workers.

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The Juneau Construction Academy is a two-part program that will offer after-school courses for students at Juneau-Douglas High School and Yaakoosge Daakahidi High School, as well as training for adults, mostly at the University of Alaska Southeast.

The academy is part of a $3.5 million effort between state agencies, trade groups and nonprofits aimed at training Alaskans in construction jobs and stopping the "unacceptable" amount of construction work that's been done by nonresident construction workers, said Ed Flanagan, project coordinator for Alaska Works Partnership, one of the many groups helping to run the Juneau Construction Academy.

Construction courses

Registration deadline: Jan. 18 for the first high school course.

For more details: www.juneauconstructionacademy.org.

Giving interested students and adults basic construction skills needed to get a job will help the state do a "better job at putting Alaskans to work before out-of-staters," Flanagan said.

The number of construction industry jobs in Juneau has been mostly flat in recent years and projected to remain so in the next couple of years, said Dan Robinson, an economist with the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

Also, a large number of construction workers are in their 50s and due to retire soon, with no clear replacement for this group in sight, he said. But Robinson added that construction work is unlikely to slow down due to a lack of skilled local workers.

"If we don't have workers, then workers from the outside will come here," Robinson said. "The wages are high enough that the jobs don't stay empty."

Modeled on a program that started last year in Anchorage, Juneau joins Fairbanks, the Matanuska Valley, Kenai and Ketchikan in starting similar programs this year.

Support for the academy is high among local contractors, said Russ McDougal, president of the Southeast Alaska Building Industry Association. He said good help is sometimes hard to find in Juneau and there is always a need for skilled workers.

"There's a lot of people who claim to have higher skills than they do," said McDougal, who is also the owner of MAC's Design and Construction. "The way the wages are nowadays, it'd be nice to get what we paid for."

The high school program is open to all students at both JDHS and Yaakoosge alternative high school and will offer courses in basic construction, welding and computer-assisted drafting. While those classes are offered for students at both schools, some students have a hard time fitting them into their schedule, said Carin Smolin, the career and technical education coordinator for the Juneau School District.

She said that one of the goals of the program is to build momentum for the new architecture, construction and engineering academy that will be opening next year at Juneau-Douglas High School as part of a new curriculum.

The adult courses in the Juneau Construction Academy are limited to about 30 participants and include basic construction, drywall finishing, residential plumbing and heating and welding.

Participants in both programs will receive college credit from UAS for some of the courses.