Tag: UAA

Alaska Airlines Pledges Additional $1 Million to Support STEM Education in Rural Alaska

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Oct. 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Alaska Airlines has renewed its partnership with the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program (ANSEP) to provide a brighter future for middle school students from rural communities across the state of Alaska.

The second, three-year $1 million grant brings Alaska Airlines’ total investment in ANSEP to $2 million. Over the next three years, funds will help transport nearly 2,000 Alaska students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades to Anchorage to attend ANSEP’s award-winning Middle School Academy education program at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

“We’re proud to see the continued success of ANSEP in fostering an interest in STEM education in the state of Alaska,” said Marilyn Romano, Alaska Airlines’ regional vice president for the state of Alaska. “Our goal is to make sure that as many students as possible have the opportunity to attend this program. We know the skills these students gain by attending ANSEP will benefit their communities and the state of Alaska, while preparing them for future success.”

The ANSEP grants are among the largest financial donations Alaska Airlines has made in the state in its 85 years of operating in Alaska. In 2016, Alaska Airlines donated $3.6 million in cash and in-kind contributions to support more than 300 different nonprofit groups and organizations throughout the state.

Read the full article here.

Source: Alaska Airlines pledges additional $1 million to support STEM education in rural Alaska – PR Newswire

TAACCCT State Profiles

TAACCCT_AlaskaProfileThe Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training Grant Program (TAACCCT) is a $1.9 billion investment in more than 700 community colleges nationwide spanning 2011-2018. To find Alaska’s TAACCCT Profile, along with other states, click here or the above image.

Workforce Wednesday: Nursing

On this Workforce Wednesday, Daybreak takes a look at the career of nursing — which can almost guarantee a position if you pass the proper training.

Jeff Jessee, dean at the University of Alaska Anchorage’s College of Health, as well as UAA nursing director Marianna Murray, joined Daybreak to discuss nursing as a career. They say nearly 100 percent of UAA’s nursing-program graduates have found work in the field within a year.

“We have an associate’s degree, bachelor’s degree, an RN-to-BS bridge program, a master’s in nursing education leadership, family nurse practitioner, and then our doctor and nursing practice”, said Murray of the nursing programs offered at UAA. To apply for one of the programs, visit the UAA School of Nursing’s advising website.

Jessee and Murray say the U.S. nursing market is very open, as many health care facilities across the country are in need of educated, hard-working nurses. As far as pay, a typical nursing professional can make from $78,000 to upwards of $100,000 as a nurse practitioner.

If you need help getting started in a career in nursing, or any industry we’ve featured, email Martha Peck at the Alaska Process Industry Career Consortium.

Watch the Workforce Wednesday segment here.

Source: Workforce Wednesday: Nursing – KTVA 11 – The Voice of Alaska

With an Impending Nursing Shortage, UAA’s School of Nursing Steps up to the Plate


UAA School of Nursing students suit up for operating room (OR) orientation. Courtesy of UAA School of Nursing.

In the United States, health care is one of the fastest growing job sectors in the country. According to the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, in 2014, 11.8 million workers were employed in the health care industry, with 2.7 million of that workforce represented by registered nurses. With the average age of nurses being 50 or older, and 30 percent of that workforce preparing to retire, public and private health care organizations across the country, including in Alaska, are bracing for a nationwide nursing shortage.

It’s not the first time this has happened. The health care industry experienced a similar nationwide nursing shortage in the 1970s and ’80s as more women entered the workforce with alternative career options than the traditional nurse, school teacher or secretary that their mothers or grandmothers had.

Alaska has not been immune to these national trends and experienced similar shortages during the ’70s and ’80s along with the rest of the country. Briefly during the ’90s and early 2000s the health care industry in Alaska recovered. But with an aging nursing population heading into retirement over the next decade, Alaska’s health care industry is turning to Alaska’s university to lead the charge in educating the next generation of nurses.

Read the full article here.

Source: With an impending nursing shortage, UAA’s School of Nursing steps up to the plate -The Cordova Times

Workforce Wednesday: Aviation Maintenance Technologies

On this workforce Wednesday, we take a look at the field of aviation maintenance technologies. A technician in this field is responsible for replacing and repairing plane parts, and diagnosing maintenance problems as they arise. We were joined by Paul Herrick with UAA’s aviation technology department.

He described the local program at UAA that prepares students to take the certification exam necessary to become a certified mechanic or a maintenance technician. The program is FAA approved, and Paul considers the program within the top ten percent as far as quality in the nation.

The best type of person suited for the job, according to Paul, is a person with attention to detail, who can remain focused and exact. Someone with a strong sense of responsibility is also preferred, as they are protecting the public’s safety.

Positions in aviation maintenance technologies typically pay between $22 and $45 an hour, but that scale is largely based on experience and time within a certain company.

Watch the Workforce Wednesday segment here.

Source: Workforce Wednesday: Aviation maintenance technologies – KTVA 11 – The Voice of Alaska