The Alaska Contractor - Summer 2008

Soldotna High School seniors Darren McGrady, Jackson
Kahn and Billy Duncan built this storage unit for the
school’s soccer fields. The welding department worked on
the locking system.
“I think the sky’s the limit with this
construction academy concept,” Hammer
said. He and other local homebuilders
are teaching the introductory
carpentry class to adults.
Parents, high school counselors,
contractors, voc-ed instructors and experienced
journeymen have all stepped
up to assure that the next generation of
construction workers is trained according
to best practices in the industry.
The Kenai Peninsula Construction
Academy’s after-school program was
conducted at Nikiski High
School, KCHS Workforce Development,
Soldotna High
School, Homer High School,
Ninilchik School and Susan B.
English in Seldovia. Carpentry,
plumbing, residential wiring,
framing and welding were
studied in two, four-week
sessions at each location. A
total of 56 students participated
peninsula-wide, receiving
completion certificates on
May 12. The Kenai Peninsula
Borough School District encompasses
more than 25,000
square miles, so there were
many distance-related challenges
in delivering construction
training to all areas. Many students
from the Russian villages (Voznesenka
and Nikolaevsk) traveled to Homer or
Ninilchik for training, a round trip of
more than 50 miles.
Throughout the Kenai Peninsula
there is tremendous interest in the upcoming
fall sessions.
Barb Roper is the project coordinator for
the After School Construction Academy.
The Fairbanks
Northstar Borough
School District, Youth
Construction Academy
Program graduated 23 students
May 5. Students from Ben Eielson,
Hutchison, Lathrop, North Pole and
West Valley enrolled and completed
the NCCER CORE Curriculum – Introductory
Craft Skills during the second
semester of 2008. All of the students
completing this program followed
NCCER Standards and fulfilled the required
number of instructional hours
to qualify for the NCCER Certificate
for the CORE Curriculum in Basic
Carpentry and Construction.
These very motivated students attended
the evening NCCER CORE
Class in addition to maintaining a
full-time course load as 11th- or 12thgrade
students.
The construction program has
established a solid partnership with
Alaska Works Partnership, AGC of
Alaska, Alaska State Home Builders
Association, Alaska Department
of Labor and the UAF Cold Climate
Housing Research Center based in
Fairbanks. The Fairbanks school dis-
BY GARY MUNYON