The Alaska Job Corps Center hosted dozens of employers and community partners at its second-ever Workforce Summit Council luncheon on Thursday, May 25. The event was attended by a broad and diverse array of employers who interacted with Job Corps instructors, students and staff to learn more about Alaska Job Corps, and what Alaska Job Corps can do to make their student graduates more employable.

Alaska Job Corps Center Director Malyn Smith offered the welcome speech in which she introduced the Job Corps program and spoke about the importance of connecting with employers in the community and across the state, so that Alaska Job Corps could continue to provide the professional skills and training to create excellent members of the workforce. 

“Through events like these, we forge strong bonds with our employer partners,” she said. “We find that our Workforce Summits are key to our success as a center and a principal way that we can offer our graduates a conduit through which they can evolve from quality students to well-trained employees.”

The Workforce Summit Council luncheon featured a keynote speech by State of Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Heidi Drygas during which she spoke about the importance of apprenticeship and training programs like Alaska Job Corps, and how necessary workforce development is in Alaska with our current state fiscal situation. Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development Deputy Commissioner Greg Cashen also attended the summit.

“Our Workforce Summits allow us to hear directly from employers what their needs are,” Smith said. “It offers our instructors the opportunity to speak with employers in their field and students to learn what skills they need to develop to become successful.”

The second speaker was Nathan Wallace, city manager for the City of Palmer. Wallace spoke about the vital and longstanding partnership between Alaska Job Corps and the City of Palmer. He discussed the many internships held by Alaska Job Corps students, and how several of those internships led to regular jobs. He also spoke about the value of having Alaska Job Corps in Palmer, and praised the number of community service projects Center students have participated in over the years.

Commissioner Drygas says she is a strong supporter of Job Corps and she was excited to interact with the students at the summit. She took a photograph with all of the student participants and spoke to many of them about their goals. She then took a tour of the center led by Alaska Job Corps Center Student Government Association representatives.

The next Alaska Job Corps Workforce Summit will be held October 26.

The Alaska Job Corps Center is a federally funded career training program administered by the U.S. Department of Labor and managed by Chugach Educational Services, Inc. The Center is committed to providing the highest quality programs for young adults by offering instructions in academics, trades and life skills through innovative methods that respond to the unique individual and group needs of today’s youth.

Story by Carin Meyer, Business Community Liaison. Photo caption: State of Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Heidi Drygas with the students who participated in the Summit. Photo by Nia Latson, student.