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This type of integrated training allows students to gain a practical sense of actual construction sites and leads to a safer and better-trained workforce.” The Chugiak site was also an im- portant training ground for appren- tices. Much of the site development was done by apprentices during train- ing classes. There was drilling and blasting of bedrock for site prepara- tion, pouring concrete and landscap- ing the site. “Apprentices are Alaska’s con- struction workforce in the making. Hands-on training such as this devel- ops skills in a solid and lasting way,” Hardy said. Meanwhile, the Fairbanks Training School on Kiana Street in the Interior city, sits on three acres, has two shops and three classrooms, and more than 15,000 square feet for indoor instruc- tion.
Chugiak’s 10-acre property allows a number of hands-on training pos- sibilities and true job site simulation. “This type of training experience allows for highly developed skills and workers are “shovel ready” for the construction workforce,” Hardy said. “It prepares apprentices to work safe- ly and to gain an understanding of the importance of a safe work environ- ment, which is essential for all jobs,” he said. Skills-based training can also be done simultaneously simulating re- al-world construction. “For example, grade-checking stu- dents can be setting critical horizontal and vertical elevations, while a differ - ent class is learning pipe laying with actual trenching and pipe handling,” Hardy said. “All the while, construc- tion equipment and vehicles are be- ing redirected through the construc- tion site, which will be done by a class teaching traffic control and flagging.
learning opportunities. In addition to traditional class- rooms, computerized training is available in the technology center that includes software for temporary traf- fic design for use in highway and road construction, and site-plan modeling. Instruction is also available in GPS, AutoCAD and other software used in grade control on all types of construc- tion projects. There are two large shops, one with a dirt floor allowing digging, trench - ing and other types of training during winter months when the outside ground is frozen. The accommodations for students at the Chugiak school, up to 26, is nearly double the space available in a previous facility in Anchorage. The on-site kitchen can provide meals and seat as many as 48 students at a time in a dining area.
Photos Courtesy Alaska Laborers
The Alaska Laborers Training School also offers a career track opportunity to those without any professional construction experience through its apprenticeship program.
— Tim Bradner
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THE LINK: The Official Magazine of the Alaska Support Industry Alliance | SUMMER 2026
www.AlaskaAlliance.com
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