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Labor Department Awards Training Grants

Jul. 10, 2000
No. 01-01

More than 500 Alaskans to Receive Job Training

The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development today announced the award of $900,000 in State Training and Employment Program (STEP) grants to training providers serving the "Balance of State." The Balance of State encompasses all areas of Alaska lying outside the Municipality of Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. Programs are tailored to serve the residents and meet the employment needs of a particular region.

The statewide providers will conduct job training for over 500 Alaskans in a variety of specific and general trades, such as power plant operators, commercial truck drivers, early childhood development trainees, rural utility clerks, and home care providers. The grants range from $100,000 to the Alaska Joint Electrical Apprenticeship and Training Trust for training electrical apprentices to $9,976 for the Norton Sound Health Corporation for restorative aide training to upgrade currently employed certified nurses' aides (CNAs). Other recipients include:

  • Bristol Bay Native Association (Personal Care Attendants--PCAs) ($53,340)
  • Southeast Alaska Regional Health Corp. (PCAs/CNAs) ($81,960)
  • Alaska Laborers Training Trust (Construction Laborer) ($76,799)
  • RurALCAP (Early Child Development) ($94,799)
  • AK Operating Engineers (Operator Training) ($80,053)
  • AK Energy Authority #1 (Utility Clerk Training) ($17,050)
  • Cornerstone (PCAs/CNAs) ($68,410)
  • AK Energy Authority #2 (Power Plant Operator Training) ($52,700)
  • Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corp. (CNAs/PCAs) ($85,828)
  • RADACT Substance Abuse Counseling) ($30,695)
  • Center for Employment Education--Fairbanks (Commercial Truck Driver) ($99,200)

The STEP program was established in 1989 to help prevent future claims against unemployment benefits, to foster new jobs in Alaska, and increase training opportunities for workers affected by changes in the economy or technology. One-tenth of one percent of each worker's wages subject to regular Unemployment Insurance contributions is put into a special state training account that is then appropriated by the Legislature to fund STEP.

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