The Alaska Job Corps Center held a Safety Fair on Friday, Feb. 16, to showcase the Center’s dedication to safety. All nine trades—Accounting Services, Building Construction Technology, Carpentry, Culinary Arts, Electrical, Nurse Assistant, Office Administration, Security and Protective Services and Water/Wastewater Treatment—participated in the Safety Fair by sharing the tools, equipment and procedures that keep people safe in each of their industries. Organized by the Center’s Security/Transportation Department, the Fair also featured speakers on emergency planning and tsunami preparedness, as well as staff from the Palmer Fire Department who educated students on the proper way to use fire extinguishers.

Students from each trade staffed booths highlighting the safety issues and equipment required for each of their trades. For example, at the Carpentry booth, students wore hard hats, reflective vests and other Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), such as hearing and eye protection. Certified Nurse Assistant students staffed a booth that featured their own trade’s PPE, such as eye protection, gowns, gloves and masks. The Water/Wastewater Treatment students wore HAZMAT suits and Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) equipment to demonstrate safety equipment used in their trade.
 
“We engage our students in all aspects of safety every single day. We are not only teaching students how to be safe while they are training on Center, but also how they can be the safest possible employees in the workforce,” said Malyn Smith, Alaska Job Corps Center Director.

The Alaska Job Corps Center promotes and upholds a culture of safety on Center through a multitude of means and methods. For example, the Center publishes regular safety bulletins on OSHA topics, each class has a designated student safety officer, all staff undergo various types of safety training, classes and meetings begin with an important safety moment and safety inspections are conducted in all areas on a daily basis.

“Our priority at the Alaska Job Corps Center is the safety of our students and staff. Events like these teach our students about safety issues and equipment in other trades, as well as safety in their own trades. Alaska Job Corps students will take the abundance of safety knowledge they gain here and apply it as they move forward with their careers and lives,” said Smith. “The safety culture at Alaska Job Corps is something that we practice 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

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 BCL Carin Meyer. Photos by Carin Meyer and Kristine Bayne.