Anchorage Daily News

PALMER -- Classes begin soon at the Mat-Su Construction Academy, an offshoot of the successful pilot program in Anchorage tasked last year by the Alaska Legislature to respond to a projected home construction work force shortage.

The Matanuska-Susitna School District recently accepted $400,000 of the $1.5 million the state set aside for startup of academies here and in Kenai, Juneau and Ketchikan. Construction academies in Anchorage and Fairbanks have received $2 million.

Proponents hope the academies will fill a labor shortage in Alaska's construction industry brought on by the field's growth and aging workers who are retiring. State labor economists have forecast that 2,000 people per year will need to be trained through 2012 to meet the construction industry's needs.

Ray DePriest, director of career and technical education, is handling the formation of the academy, which will target high school students and adults. He's working with the Mat-Su Home Builders Association, Associated General Contractors, Alaska Work Partnership and the Alaska Department of Labor.

These partnerships mirror the ones in the Anchorage Construction Academy, which provided training to 113 adults and 422 high school students last year.

"We hope to shoot for 200 students to start with," DePriest said of enrollment in Mat-Su workshops scheduled after school twice a week.

The workshops will be held at all district high schools and will be free. They will cover basic carpentry, electrical, plumbing and surface finishes such as drywall, he added. "These are in addition to what we already offer."

Although the district provides a full plate of construction how-to, many students can't fit everything into their school schedule. The academy's monthlong courses are opportunities for motivated teenagers to build their resumes or technical applications, DePriest said.

ADULT CONSTRUCTION CLASSES OFFERED

Interested adults may also participate in free workshops planned at Palmer and Wasilla high schools. Mike Andrews, director of the Alaska Works Partnership, which facilitated the adult programs for Anchorage, has the same role in the Valley.

"This is basic skills training, helping a person get into an entry-level position to get on-the-job training or an apprenticeship program," Andrews said. Because enrollment is limited to 15 people per workshop, the application process will include an interview, resume and references.

Andrews said the goal is to attract ambitious adults who plan on working in the construction industry. At this point, the workshops will be similar to ones offered in district high schools, although "we'll see what the (Mat-Su) employers want," he said. "I'll meet with them at the end of the month to find out the needed skills, but the trend has been for basic skills."

Adults who complete courses in the Mat-Su Construction Academy are poised to move on to bigger things.

Krista Inscho, 23, who attended the Anchorage Construction Academy last year, said her apprenticeship application was initially rejected by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union despite entry-level experience in electrical construction.

She took four months' worth of courses in basic construction at the academy, reapplied and was accepted. Her four-year apprenticeship started in July.

Inscho believes her course work helped her success.

"(Going to the academy) shows that you have initiative, that you will be a go-getter and do anything possible to further yourself instead of just relying on waiting until you get into an apprenticeship program," she said.

"Anything you do on your own will help you, and will help you with the interview process."

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