This fall, UAA will offer a suite of Fast Track Career Certificates based on current and emerging state economic trends. The certificates will help Alaskans retool rapidly and acquire new skills to re-enter the workforce or build upon existing skills in their chosen field.
Whether the mines produce zinc, lead, coal, gravel, silver, or gold, the direct and indirect financial impacts on the surrounding area are significant, according to a McDowell Group report commissioned by the Alaska Mining Association.
Alaska’s job count was down 13.1 percent in April from the same month last year, a loss of 42,200 jobs.
Through this initiative, students who are in the final semester of their nursing program are given the option to complete course requirements on an expedited timeline so they can graduate early.
Governor Mike Dunleavy signed House Bill 308 and Senate Bill 74—two major pieces of legislation providing for expanded unemployment benefits in light of the COVID-19 outbreak and doubling minimum internet speeds at Alaska’s schools.
Most experts indicate that the Last Frontier has turned the corner and in 2020 will claw its way out of the recession that started several years ago. However, the recovery is not expected to be uniform, as Anchorage remains in recession and many of the impacts of the state’s budget cuts have yet to play out.
In order to help meet the challenge of educating and training Alaska’s workforce, the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) works closely with local industries to constantly align its programs. UAA’s Community & Technical College, for instance, offers one, two, and four-year degrees in high-demand areas such as aviation, hospitality, construction, safety, computer technology, automotive, diesel, and welding. Each program has its own volunteer industry advisory board.
Alaska’s only tribal college, located in America’s northernmost municipality, has an opportunity for an educational leader at Iḷisaġvik College, one of the top ten community colleges in the nation.
Newly released data for the first half of 2019 show total wages up $355 million from the first half of 2018, with increases in all of Alaska’s major industries and sectors. The 4.0 percent wage growth exceeded inflation, which was 2.6 percent over the period.
Alaska’s employment was up an estimated 0.6 percent in September, or 2,000 jobs, from September 2018. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 6.2 percent while the comparable national rate dipped to 3.5 percent.