UAF Teams Up To Discuss Developing A Rural Energy Workforce

By Colin A. Warren

A version of this story previously appeared in The Nome Nugget

On October 2, leaders of rural communities, industry and education descended upon the Westmark Conference Center in Fairbanks for the Alaska Rural Energy Conference. One of the featured discussion panels was: “Successful Projects Require Specific Skills: Cultivating An Energy Workforce.”

The panel was moderated by UAF's Alaska Center for Energy and Power’s Program Architect, Annalise Klein. The panel included Bryan Uher the Associate Vice Chancellor for UAF’s College of Indigenous Studies, Chris McConnell of Alaska Energy Authority, Dr. Bill Schnabel the Dean of UAF’s College of Engineering & Mines, Mariko Selle of Alaska Workforce Alliance, and Michelle Spillane Director of UAF’s Upward Bound Program.

The panel opened with an introduction from each member. Selle emphasized that “we need to get kids into the workforce pipeline” in order to address our state’s outmigration problem. McConnell explained we need more training coordination for stand alone utilities - such as Kotzebue, Nome or Utqiagvik - as well as advocating for self-sufficiency and preventative maintenance of things like generators. Uher said he wanted to rename UAF’s Process Technology Program, which in the past only trained students for Slope jobs. Whereas today, the program incorporates training for rural water treatment and other “rural Alaska lifestyle” positions. Schnabel discussed the transition from oil and natural gas to renewables in our near future. Spillane expressed pride in a program in UAF’s Upward Bound called STEAMFEST, which serves low-income families who are the first-generation to attend college. The program brings together science, technology, engineering, art and math with community partners to develop professional skills. 

When Klein posed the question of how partnerships can improve workforce development, Uher was the first to answer: “It takes community in the village.” He recognized that this is cliché but true and went on to describe how UAF paired with biomass energy plants being installed around the state. They sent instructors to each biomass facility that taught students locally how to run them. In doing so, the students earned college credits and learned the skills to run the plants. 

“So if there are large projects coming to a community,” Uher went on, “and the community wants to be involved and not only be the workforce, but also receive college credit for that, the university has the ability to create curriculum and develop that.”

To this statement, McConnell expressed some frustration, saying, “I think there are often times a lot of trainings throughout the state where there’s a lot of empty seats.” He emphasized that most people working rural utilities are too busy “keeping the lights on” to pay attention to all the training offered and suggested that someone in the community should solely be watching for the offerings. 

Selle responded by suggesting that we need more “baked-in partnerships” in which companies that would offer jobs work with the university to develop the workforce. She pointed specifically to a program at UA Southeast’s Maritime Education Consortium did with Yamaha to learn how to work on outboard motors. 

Spillane shared her excitement for baked-in partnerships too, noting a successful program in Wrangell in which the U.S. Forest Service partnered with local businesses, the mayor, city council, and high school students. Senator Murkowski recently visited Wrangell to celebrate the success of the program. 

Klein then posed an important question: “What are ways of focusing on village hubs and ways that we can build up a skill base there?”

McConnell honed in on the fact that even diesel mechanics need business skills, too, such as financial literacy and management skills. Uher piped in and said that he’s most often getting requests from industry partners to develop in his students “soft-skills”, such as writing emails, having conversations on the phone and time management. Uher said that employers often say that teaching the “hard-skills”, or the technical parts of energy jobs, are often best left for on the job training. 

The panel ended with a couple questions from the audience, one of which was, “How are we going to have all the skills for the future, especially with a new grid?” 

The panelists admitted that there was no sure answer, but that developing workforce pipelines were key. Klein noted that “lots” of undergrads were applying for the renewable energy programs at the university.