ob openings in Alaska outnumber the workers available to fill them—a preferable problem than vice versa, but a problem nonetheless. Alaska had 26,000 job openings in June 2024, compared to 25,000 openings in May, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.

Yet more than 10,000 posted jobs are unfilled in Alaska, and the gap is growing. Alaska is poised for more than $20 billion in new infrastructure and resource development projects by 2030, and an additional 20,000 new workers may be needed to complete those projects.

Dirk Craft, executive director of the Alaska Workforce Investment Board (AWIB), observed last year: “Our current workforce is aging, a concerning number of our youth are disconnected from employment opportunities, and job vacancies have reached unprecedented levels.”

Net out-migration is part of the problem. For eleven years, more people have moved away from Alaska than into the state, a streak nearly three times longer than any on record. In total, nearly 57,000 more people left Alaska than arrived in that time, according to Alaska Economic Trends, a publication of the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOLWD).

Fulfilling its workforce development mission, the department is fostering opportunities to train the Alaskans who remain in the state’s labor pool, with the added benefit of attracting newcomers interested in gaining skills. “Strategic partnerships are addressing Alaska’s workforce demands,” says Labor Commissioner Cathy Muñoz.

Educational institutions and companies have also stepped up to address these economic and retention concerns.

Stepping up begins before high school graduation, and Providence Alaska is one of the organizations trying to reach young students.

“Providence collaborates regularly with the Anchorage School District (ASD) and University of Alaska Anchorage to achieve the shared goal of ensuring an adequate and well-prepared workforce,” says Mikal Canfield, external communication senior manager at Providence Alaska. “Through our Community Partnerships program, Providence has been a long-time provider of job-shadowing experiences, career and technical education internships, and gifted mentorship placements for ASD students.”

In the 2023/2024 school year, Providence expanded its work with ASD to include a School Ambassador Program, where Providence employees are matched with a high school and serve as a resource for teachers and a mentor to students who are interested in healthcare careers. For the current school year, the program expanded to seven high schools, and Canfield says Providence hopes the ambassador outreach grows alongside the Academies of Anchorage.

Inviting high school students to explore the many opportunities, Academies of Anchorage is a career education approach that the Anchorage School Board approved in June 2024. This year’s 9th graders are the first to try it.

Students choose a “pathway” that best fits their college or career interests, and they take elective courses related to that field for the rest of their time in high school. Pathways include Business and Innovation, Community Planning and Infrastructure, Leadership in Law and Business, Industry and Construction, Culinary Arts, and Welding. There are twenty-six general pathways and eighty-five specialties within those pathways available.

Another feature of Academies of Anchorage was a Career Expo held in October at the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center. About 4,000 students strolled through booths and chatted with representatives from companies spanning the telecom, tech, finance, engineering, and construction industries, among others.

While the expo brought students to a central location to mingle with employers, many companies invite students to visit them directly.

“Coffman Engineers, Inc. provides internships to high school and college students who are interested in pursuing engineering degrees,” says Jessy Post, a marketing and communications specialist with the firm. “Interns generally gain experience through time working with principals and technical staff in the discipline they plan to earn a degree in or are interested in.”

Interns are introduced to computer-aided drafting software, and they can spend time in the field, visiting project sites, collecting data, taking notes, or assisting with documents related to design, construction, fabrication, and engineering of Coffman’s projects.

“We provide internships for civil, corrosion control, electrical, mechanical, and structural engineering,” says Post.

Key to workforce planning, both by ASD and DOLWD, is the recognition that good careers do not require attending college. However, college is still a resource. As an open-access university, the UA System has thirteen statewide community colleges in addition to its main campuses in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau. Through its education and training programs, UA aims to support the state economy with well-trained and job-ready students.

“We are really aligned to workforce needs in the state,” says Teri Cothren, UA Associate Vice President, Workforce Development.

Through its course offerings, UA looks to cover just about every career path needed to work in the state. UA’s key workforce development sectors include fisheries, seafood and marine, healthcare, mining, oil and gas, renewable energy, and teacher education.

And the sectors not offered, Cothren explains, can be accessed by the university’s network of partners, like the University of Washington for medical training and, recently announced, Seattle University School of Law for the legal training program.

Apart from an MD, other healthcare occupations have plenty of local training available. Across the street from the UAA and Alaska Pacific University campuses, Providence Alaska Medical Center has been a tremendous resource. “UAA has been and will continue to be a very important partner,” says Canfield. “Leaders at Providence and UAA regularly collaborate to help ensure the continued success and industry relevance of UAA’s healthcare training offerings.”

Offering paid training opportunities and supportive transition to practice programs for high-need positions is an important aspect of Providence’s staffing efforts. For those interested in starting a career in healthcare, Providence offers paid training opportunities to become phlebotomists, medical assistants, and nursing assistants.

For recent nursing graduates, Providence offers the only accredited transition-to-practice program (Clinical Academy) in Alaska, Canfield notes.

One measure of success is how many Alaskans, once trained, apply their skills in the state. UA reports that 96 percent of its construction program graduates, for example, remain in Alaska.

“They can get very short-term, six-week intensive training and get a job in a mine making very good money or expand to business development to go into management,” Cothren says.

In January, Cothren was given the 2023 PACE Economic Development Award by the Association for Career and Technical Education. The award recognizes outstanding individuals or teams contributing to economic growth and for their exceptional work in Career and Technical Education.

Government agencies are doing their part, in tandem with the business and academic sectors. For instance, DOLWD is trying to improve the licensure process for electricians and plumbers, especially to build out broadband internet connections.

“Recent statutory and regulatory changes have updated the certificate of fitness process, including third party testing, provisional licensure, and reciprocity with other states,” Muñoz says.

DOLWD’s Eligible Training Provider List is a compilation of statewide education and training programs for in-demand occupations. The department assures that programs on the list are high-quality and proven to have the best success rates for graduates.

For his part, Governor Mike Dunleavy directed AWIB to “reboot” old, inactive workforce development plans. As part of the process, AWIB is assessing the roles and contributions of schools, government agencies, and employers. With that information, the plan will lay out a vision and priorities for workforce development, which is defined as career awareness, exploration, and preparation for students starting in kindergarten, the 18-to-24 age bracket after high school, and even mid-career adults.

The Alaska Safety Alliance and the State of Alaska, with support from the Denali Commission, drafted a cross-industry workforce development plan to address critical labor shortages. The document called Workforce 2030 – The Alaska Plan has four stated objectives:

• Develop a workforce compatible with the diverse needs of Alaska’s employers and the workers.
• Build talent pipelines that recruit, educate, and train Alaskans for occupations in high demand.
• Reduce the outmigration of Alaska talent.
• Strengthen economic development through workforce development in every region.

An Industry Advisory Council guides strategic planning; it’s composed of members from the air transportation, trucking, maritime, oil and gas, construction, telecommunications, mining, property management, and healthcare industries. A new Workforce 2030 website, alaskaworkforce.org, serves as an information and communication platform for employers, associations, educators, workers, and the public.

Assessment, planning, and networking has been part of Providence Alaska’s internal workforce development efforts. “Providence continuously evaluates current and future staffing needs to help determine which training opportunities to offer,” Canfield says. “Providence also offers a variety of training and development options for current employees to improve their skills and advance their careers.”

The US Department of Labor has been supporting workforce development in Palmer for years through its Job Corps Center, rededicated last year in honor of the late Congressman Don Young, who was instrumental in bringing the agency to Alaska. Job Corps also retooled its training as an Infrastructure Academy, gearing its offerings toward the anticipated flood of federally funded projects.

Industry stakeholders have emphasized the need to enhance career awareness and training pathways, foster regional workforce development, and retain and attract skilled workers. In response, DOLWD and the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development are trying to expand career awareness at the secondary school level.

Looking to the future, Cothren believes that the statewide broadband network will provide more training opportunities throughout the state with online access and employment opportunities. “The university is going to be a key partner in that,” Cothren says.

From high school and higher education to company-based training, internships, and mentoring, Alaskans—no matter their age—have a wide choice of support to pursue careers, right here in Alaska.