02/23/2001 03:20 PM House L&C

                     ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE                                                                                 
            HOUSE LABOR AND COMMERCE STANDING COMMITTEE                                                                       
                         February 23, 2001                                                                                      
                             3:20 p.m.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
COMMITTEE CALENDAR                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
OVERVIEW: STATE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT: PRIVATE SECTOR                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
TAPES                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
01-22C, SIDES A & B                                                                                                             

01-22D, SIDE A                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                              
CALL TO ORDER                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  LISA MURKOWSKI,  Chair, called  the House Labor  and                                                            
Commerce Standing Committee meeting to order at 3:20 p.m.                                                                       
                                                                                                                              
PRESENT                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
Members  present included  Representatives  Murkowski, Meyer,  Kott,                                                            
Rokeberg, and Crawford.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                              
SUMMARY OF INFORMATION                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
KITTY  FARNUM, Chair,  Alaska Process  Industry  Consortium  (APIC),                                                            
reported  that  APIC  is  part  of  the  larger  Business   Learning                                                            
Consortia.  The consortium  is one part of the workforce development                                                            
plan in Alaska.   Industry members come together to  create a common                                                            
voice to identify future  job needs, and job standards to meet those                                                            
needs.  The consortium  brings focus to the industries that are most                                                            
critical to Alaska's future.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
LARAINE  DERR, President,  Alaska  State Hospital  and Nursing  Home                                                            
Association (ASHNHA), spoke briefly on health care.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
DICK CATTANACH,  Executive Director, Associated General  Contractors                                                            
(AGC), reported  that the  construction industry  is experiencing  a                                                            
shortage  of  workers.    By  2008  Alaska   will  need  2,200  more                                                            
construction  workers: 850  new workers each  year.  AGC  recognizes                                                            
the need to  recruit students who  are high school age and  younger.                                                            
He outlined  AGC's  plan to  attract  students to  the construction                                                             
industry and acknowledged  that construction workers need to improve                                                            
their image.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
BONNIE JO SAVLAND,  Statewide Director,  Alaska Native Coalition  on                                                            
Employment and  Training (ANCET), reported that ANCET  is working to                                                            
develop  skills and  train  individuals  to maximize  employment  in                                                            
rural Alaska.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MIKE ANDREWS,  Director, Alaska Works  Partnership (AWP),  asked the                                                            
committee  to turn  their  attention to  a video  on apprenticeship                                                             
training  programs.   Mr.  Andrews stated  the objective  of  Alaska                                                            
Works Partnership is to  increase access to good jobs and careers in                                                            
rural  Alaska.   Alaska  Works  Partnership  seeks to  increase  the                                                            
number of  Alaska Natives  and women in  the construction  industry.                                                            
He  highlighted  the  commitment  from  the construction   industry,                                                            
unions, and apprenticeship programs to achieve the goals of AWP.                                                                
                                                                                                                                
KRISTEN  FORRESTER,   Career  Pathways,  stated  that  kindergarten                                                             
through high school  curriculums need to evolve to  fit the changing                                                            
workforce.   Career  Pathways is  a system  that seeks  to create  a                                                            
sequence of courses to  focus a student's learning experience on how                                                            
things apply to the real  world.  There are six paths that encompass                                                            
all imaginable  jobs and  let students learn  in context.   Students                                                            
are taught employability  skills like integrity and  responsibility.                                                            
                                                                                                                                
JOHN  HACALA   (ph),  State  Director,   Office  of  Apprenticeship                                                             
Training, Employer  and Labor Services, United States  Department of                                                            
Labor (USDOL),  via teleconference, explained that  he is working to                                                            
promote and  expand the national apprenticeship  system,  coordinate                                                            
services  with  other state  and  federal  training  and  employment                                                            
programs, and develop policies  that encourage business and industry                                                            
to participate  more actively in the  workforce development  system.                                                            
                                                                                                                                
MR. HACALA spoke  about the status of the apprenticeship  program in                                                            
Alaska,  which  has  been  active  for  over  50  years.    He  said                                                            
registered  apprenticeships  have  been  the traditional  method  to                                                            
establish skill  standards and certifications  for industry  in most                                                            
of the construction  trades.  He said he has been  working to expand                                                            
the  apprenticeship  programs  and  mentioned  four  initiatives  in                                                            
varying stages of development and implementation.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
ANNOUNCEMENTS                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
There were no committee announcements.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
COMMITTEE ACTION                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
The committee took no action.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
ADJOURNMENT                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                              
CHAIR  MURKOWSKI adjourned  the House  Labor  and Commerce  Standing                                                            
Committee meeting at 5:10 p.m.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
NOTE:   The meeting  was  recorded and  handwritten  log notes  were                                                            
taken.   A copy  of the tape(s)  and  log notes may  be obtained  by                                                            
contacting  the  House Records  Office  at  State Capitol,  Room  3,                                                            
Juneau, Alaska   99801 (mailing address), (907) 465-2214,  and after                                                            
adjournment of the second  session of the Twenty-Second Alaska State                                                            
Legislature  this  information  may be  obtained by  contacting  the                                                            
Legislative Reference Library at (907) 465-3808.