State promotes Alaska hire through $808,195 in grants to train workers
Nine grants totaling $808,195 have been approved by the state Department of Labor to launch job-training programs for about 300 Alaskans.
Industries targeted for the grants include health care, tourism and hospitality, aviation, information technology, value-added food production and marine engine maintenance, according to Pennelope Goforth, an employment security analyst for the state.
The University of Alaska Southeast will receive $37,390 to establish an internship program for marine engineers in training.
Goforth said the grants were issued through a new state program known as the New Investment Strategy. It uses state and federal money to provide training in public- and private-sector jobs in Alaska.
"It's part of our Department of Labor mandate to streamline our work force development system and to make it more accessible," Goforth said.
Tara Jollie, administrator for the state Training and Employment Program, said the UAS grant will allow the university to pay a small stipend to engineering students who must complete a nine-month unpaid internship prior to getting certified to work on a ship.
"It works a lot like an apprenticeship," Jollie said.
Labor Commissioner Greg O'Claray, in a prepared statement, said the grants support Gov. Frank Murkowski's appeal to employers to commit to hiring workers from Alaska.
"We're determined to expand training and job opportunities throughout the Alaska work force," O'Claray said.
Other grants include:
• $156,144 to the Galena School District for training in hospitality, tourism, culinary arts and aviation dispatch.
• $87,493 to North Star Computing in Fairbanks, for training in health care and information technology.
• $46,231 to the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association, for a statewide advanced nurses training program.
• $223,586 to the University of Alaska Kuskokwim campus, for teacher aide training.