00             CS FOR HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 10(FSH)                                                             
01 Supporting the Alaska Maritime Workforce Development Industry Advisory                                                  
02 Committee, the Alaska Workforce Investment Board, the Alaska Vocational Technical                                       
03 Education Center in Seward, and further efforts to carry out the Alaska Maritime                                        
04 Workforce Development Plan.                                                                                             
05 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
06       WHEREAS the maritime industry in the state includes seafood harvesting, seafood                                 
07 processing, vessel construction and repair, research, resource enhancement and management,                              
08 marine transportation and freight, and other activities or services; and                                                
09       WHEREAS those services and activities have only recently become widely                                          
10 recognized as making up a discrete maritime industry; and                                                               
11       WHEREAS the maritime industry in the state consists of more than 500 businesses                                 
12 and a workforce of 68,000 persons, making the industry the largest private sector employer in                           
13 the state; and                                                                                                          
14       WHEREAS significant economic benefits resulting directly from activity in the                                   
15 maritime industry include, for example, the addition of $6,750,000,000 to the state's economy                           

01 in 2011; and                                                                                                            
02       WHEREAS significant economic benefits resulting indirectly from activity in the                                 
03 maritime industry include, for example, the addition of $1,000,000,000 to the state's economy                           
04 in 2011 from transportation spending related to the maritime industry; and                                              
05       WHEREAS approximately 50 percent of persons employed in the state's maritime                                    
06 industry are residents of the state; and                                                                                
07       WHEREAS the number of maritime industry jobs in the state that require a high level                             
08 of technical and professional skill is increasing; and                                                                  
09       WHEREAS the maritime industry in the state seeks to increase the number of state                                
10 residents who have the technical skills, professional skills, and motivation to succeed in the                          
11 maritime industry; and                                                                                                  
12       WHEREAS the Alaska Maritime Workforce Development Industry Advisory                                             
13 Committee was established to work with employers, state agencies, the University of Alaska,                             
14 and other regional and local providers of vocational education and technical training to                                
15 implement the Alaska Maritime Workforce Development Plan; and                                                           
16       WHEREAS, in order to succeed, the plan requires that the maritime industry,                                     
17 educators, state government, and regional and local providers of vocational education and                               
18 technical training collaborate to increase the number of state residents who have the technical                         
19 skills, professional skills, and motivation to succeed in the maritime industry; and                                    
20       WHEREAS the plan seeks to increase career awareness, workforce recruitment and                                  
21 retention, and training in job readiness and core competencies; and                                                     
22       WHEREAS the plan seeks to increase professional development in emerging and                                     
23 high-demand occupational categories, including 23 categories the plan specifically identifies;                          
24 and                                                                                                                     
25       WHEREAS the best way to carry out the plan is for the industry to lead a                                        
26 collaboration with the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the Department of                                 
27 Education and Early Development, the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic                                    
28 Development, the Department of Fish and Game, the Department of Transportation and                                      
29 Public Facilities, the University of Alaska, regional and local providers of vocational                                 
30 education and technical training, Community Development Quota organizations, tribal and                                 
31 local governments, and public and private schools; and                                                                  

01       WHEREAS the Alaska Workforce Investment Board is assigned the task of advising                                  
02 the state regarding plans to train and prepare Alaskans for jobs in the state in order to promote                       
03 growth in the state's economy; and                                                                                      
04       WHEREAS a goal of the Alaska Workforce Investment Board is to build connections                                 
05 that place Alaskans in good jobs, and that goal keeps the board focused on developing a                                 
06 workforce system that is useful, accessible, and understandable to businesses seeking                                   
07 qualified workers, unemployed Alaskans searching for jobs, and employees seeking to                                     
08 upgrade their work skills to meet demands and opportunities in a changing workplace; and                                
09       WHEREAS a goal of the Alaska Workforce Investment Board is to increase resident                                 
10 hire to 75 percent of total hires in the maritime industry by 2020; and                                                 
11       WHEREAS the Alaska Maritime Training Center is approved by the United States                                    
12 Coast Guard to offer both standard training and training tailored to the specific needs of the                          
13 maritime industry; and                                                                                                  
14       WHEREAS the Alaska Maritime Training Center delivers training in modern                                         
15 classrooms and with the latest training tools and technology, including a world-class ship                              
16 simulator and a state-of-the-art, computer-based navigational laboratory; and                                           
17       WHEREAS Alaska has more coastline than the other 49 United States combined; and                                 
18       WHEREAS the marine environment of the state is one of the world's most                                          
19 challenging for the maritime industry; and                                                                              
20       WHEREAS qualified marine captains and other qualified marine crewmembers are                                    
21 needed to ensure the safe transport of passengers and freight and the safety of commercial                              
22 fishing operations in the state's navigable waters; and                                                                 
23       WHEREAS the Alaska Vocational Technical Education Center, which is housed in                                    
24 the joint Alaska Vocational Technical Education Center and United States Coast Guard                                    
25 training facility in Seward, Alaska, is the foundation of maritime industry workforce delivery                          
26 in the state; and                                                                                                       
27       WHEREAS a goal of the Alaska Maritime Training Center is to promote the safe                                    
28 transport of passengers and freight and safe commercial fishing operations in the state's                               
29 navigable waters by training marine captains and other marine crewmembers for employment                                
30 in the maritime industry workforce in the state; and                                                                    
31       WHEREAS the Alaska State Legislature in Legislative Resolve 36, Twenty-Seventh                                  

01 Alaska State Legislature, identified maritime workforce development as a priority;                                      
02       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports the Alaska Maritime                                   
03 Workforce Development Plan, the Alaska Workforce Investment Board, and the Alaska                                       
04 Vocational Technical Education Center, and calls for further collaboration between the                                  
05 maritime industry, the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the Department of                                 
06 Education and Early Development, the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic                                    
07 Development, the Department of Fish and Game, the Department of Transportation and                                      
08 Public Facilities, the University of Alaska, regional and local providers of vocational                                 
09 education and technical training, Community Development Quota organizations, tribal and                                 
10 local governments, public and private schools, and other stakeholders to implement the plan;                            
11 and be it                                                                                                               
12       FURTHER RESOLVED that the President of the Senate shall appoint a member of                                     
13 the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint a member of the                               
14 House of Representatives, to liaison with the Alaska Maritime Workforce Development                                     
15 Industry Advisory Committee to ensure that members of the legislature are kept informed                                 
16 regarding implementation of the plan; and be it                                                                         
17       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the                                    
18 governor to direct the commissioner of education and early development, the commissioner of                             
19 commerce, community, and economic development, the commissioner of fish and game, the                                   
20 commissioner of labor and workforce development, the commissioner of transportation and                                 
21 public facilities, and the president of the University of Alaska to collaborate with the Alaska                         
22 Maritime Workforce Development Industry Advisory Committee regarding implementation                                     
23 of the Alaska Maritime Workforce Development Plan and, by January 30, 2016, deliver a                                   
24 report regarding that collaboration and plans for further collaboration to the Senate Secretary                         
25 and the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives and notify the legislature that the report                          
26 is available.