y the middle of this century the population of Southeast is forecast to drop by 13 percent. All other parts of Alaska are expected to grow, but every community in Southeast is projected to decline. (The notable exception is Skagway, where the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development anticipates a 45 percent population increase, the biggest percentage gain of any municipality or census area.)
The largest population drop is forecast for Prince of Wales Island, which could lose 31 percent of its residents by 2050. The only areas with comparable losses are the Yukon-Koyukuk area of the Interior, the Denali Borough, and the Kodiak Island Borough. Neighboring areas are forecast to grow, but Southeast is a huge swath of depopulation.
To counter that trend, tribes and corporations in Southeast are promoting workforce development. Programs that cultivate the human capital of the region open up work opportunities and even remote jobs, so Southeast residents can earn enough to remain in their communities.
Beyond knowledge and skills, the program demonstrates possible career pathways for students. “We have a lot of people who leave,” says Tesla Cox, senior director of shareholder development for Sealaska. “We’re showing them opportunities so they know they can stay. We look at everything as a lifecycle, so we start with youth for education and access. Later we have internships.”
This year Sealaska has thirty-five internships, including an international intern program with three students in the United Kingdom working for fishing companies. “We look at our scholarship data and, if we don’t have positions to fit those students, we work with community partners and have externships so we can create opportunities for everyone,” says Cox.
Sealaska’s workforce development has included a forestry curriculum in schools for some time, and this year saw the addition of a mariculture curriculum. Students took a field trip to explore what mariculture careers look like, visiting a kelp farm and an oyster farm. Students were able to see and participate in each part of the farming process. This is meant to help students see the opportunities available to them when they leave school.
Sealaska also offers a program called Codefy, which provides twelve weeks of intensive training in computer programming. Those who take part in this program can get certifications in Java, databases, and other specialties. The program feeds into a summer internship, which can lead to paid employment. “They go straight into really good jobs that they can do remotely,” says Cox. This provides shareholders access to high paying remote opportunities, so they won’t have to leave the state.
The “full range” fills the gaps that direct training or scholarships don’t cover. Services include financial assistance to cover basic needs while clients work towards self-sufficiency, career assessment testing, job skills development, and on-the-job training. A job placement service offers training assistance to eligible clients. Distance learning for office skills is also provided, as are interview and résumé writing workshops.
For members of the Ketchikan Indian Community (KIC), a tribal youth program offers an after-school space, homework assistance, workshops for students and their parents, and an opportunity to attend both community and school events. According to the Ketchikan Education and Training Program, “The goal of [the] Tribal Youth Program is to increase attendance and graduation rate of our Alaska Native/American Indian students” with these activities.
Furthermore, a Tribal Scholars Program offers “a supportive, engaging, and culturally-enriched educational alternative” open to all Native secondary students in the Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District. The program provides students with traditional core credits for a high school diploma, and it adds lessons in the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian languages as well as college science credits for traditional gathering and subsistence practices.
The community’s Summer Youth Training and Employment Program provides tribal youth between the ages of 14 and 18 with on-the-job experience by partnering with local employers to strengthen job and life skills through weekly workforce training workshops. “We teach them things like banking and saving money and résumé writing,” says KIC Education and Training Director Sonya Skan.
The Re-Envision Program provides education, training, and other supportive services to tribal members returning to the community after incarceration, treatment, or aging out of the foster care system. The program focuses on employment support services, education and training services, and integration into the community so tribal members can successfully integrate into society and sustain meaningful employment.
KIC also provides workforce development opportunities for its shareholders and members of any age. There are training and educational opportunities, such as medical coding and billing, maritime certificates and licenses, safety trainings for various industries, commercial driver’s license (CDL) training, welding certification, and more.
KIC, as a federally recognized tribe, helps students pay for post-secondary education, too. The Mary Jones Excellence in Healthcare Scholarship provides continuity of care in KIC’s Tribal Healthcare Clinic by supporting tribal members in obtaining education in the medical field. Members enrolled in accredited healthcare-related degree programs receive supplemental support and agree to one year of full-time service in the clinic for each year of funding awarded. The Esther Shea Cultural Studies Program is a scholarship that encourages tribal members to explore and perpetuate their cultural heritage, including language and arts studies at local institutions.
KIC also offers an Advanced Educational Opportunities Scholarship, which provides supplementary financial assistance to tribal members who are attending (or plan to attend) a nonprofit college or university to obtain an undergraduate or graduate degree.
Tlingit & Haida has a College Student Assistance program that provides financial aid to tribally enrolled citizens who are attending or plan to attend an accredited college or university in the pursuit of postsecondary education. The program serves communities in Haines, Juneau, Kasaan, Pelican, Saxman, and Tenakee.
Sealaska also invests in youth with its scholarship awards. More than $1.1 million was awarded to 462 recipients for the 2023/2024 academic year. The scholarships allow shareholders and their descendants to pursue their educational goals and dreams. To sweeten the bargain, Sealaska signed a memorandum of understanding with the University of Alaska that offers students 10 percent back on their degree courses.
Apart from tuition support, Sealaska has a student sponsorship program, where it sends thirty to forty people each year to conferences that are relevant to their educational journey. “The feedback we’ve gotten from the students is that it’s important to see people that look like you who are working in the field that interests you,” says Cox.
Sealaska’s workforce development opportunities are meant to help Alaska Natives to stay and work in their communities. “The goal is that we can do something, especially if we start young and get them that exposure to what’s out there and provide opportunities for them so they can go right into a position,” says Cox.
Debora Vandor | iStock
Outside of the office, Sealaska offers a Surf and Turf camp on Prince of Wales Island. The camp teaches water- and land-based survival skills that are essential for living and working on the island. “We’re making sure if we’re training our kids for careers on the water that they’re safe,” says Cox.
In the hopes of bringing more classes and opportunities to the island, Sealaska also recently started providing funding for a full-time director at the Prince of Wales Vocational and Technical Education Center, which was previously under-utilized. The corporation also supports island communities based on need. For example, it brought heat pump installation training into two different communities and has done commercial drivers’ license training in others. “Every one of our rural communities has needs based on their community,” says Cox.
Employment and training assistance can take the form of childcare, transportation, or healthcare. It also involves job placement, on-the-job training, and apprenticeship programs.
KIC’s job readiness services include everything from résumé writing and practice interviews to providing gently used work clothing or interview clothing vouchers. “In the first three months of this year, we’ve already given out well over 100 vouchers,” says Skan.
In addition to its direct employment services, KIC awards Vocational Training Grants of up to $8,000 for Tribal members to pursue a certificate or license that will either lead to employment or to increased success in the workplace.
“The biggest thing and the thing that brings us the most joy in workforce development is when we see success,” says Skan. “And success looks different for everyone. Sometimes it’s ‘I signed up and got my own email.’ Sometimes it’s someone getting a CDL license and getting a job and making enough money to support their family, so they can stay in their community. That’s huge success, and we love seeing that.”