In January Trends: All Alaska industries expected to add jobs or hold steady, worker shortages are ongoing, and federal infrastructure money will start flowing in 2023. Read more about Alaska’s economic outlook in this issue of Trends.
Source: Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
Worldwide, the blue economy was estimated at $1.5 trillion per year in 2017 and is expected to double by 2030. There is fascination with Alaska and the biological diversity and the grandeur of the state that pulls people in. The blue economy represents the single greatest opportunity for job creation in the state and allow for Alaska to move away from simply an economy that’s based on extraction to one that’s based on sustainability and a benefit to the environment.
Source: Empower Alaska
In November Trends: Seafood harvesting employment declined slightly in 2021 after a large drop in 2020. The pandemic was less of an obstacle in 2021 than the year before, but restrictions and outbreaks continued to put a damper on the industry. Also in this issue: Hope is on the horizon for the community of Adak. A private consultant is working to secure a new plant operator to reopen the processing plant in 2023, and the Port of Adak will receive $10.1 million in federal infrastructure funding this year.
Source: Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
As COVID-19 conditions continue to improve in Alaska, our ability to travel to UAF facilities located throughout the state is also possible again. This in-person connection has been missing over the past year, and we are all pretty excited to engage with our colleagues again. In my role as vice chancellor for administrative services, seeing a facility first-hand and getting to know the people located there, including the research, instruction, or outreach activities taking place, has been so helpful as I familiarize myself with UAF infrastructure needs across the state. For this visit to the Alaska Sea Grant-managed Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center, I was accompanied by our provost, interim vice chancellor for research, Alaska Sea Grant director and associate vice chancellor for facilities services. Science Center inspired hope for resilient programs that will move UAF forward.
Read the full article here.
Source: UAF Cornerstone Friday Focus: Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center by Julie Queen
Source: University of Alaska Fisheries, Seafood and Maritime Initiative
UA Workforce Development News 