.`_^ɩOPaL^_L_TYRɪ_Z MAPTS, future miners
BY TIM BRADNER
For The Alaska Miner The University of Alaska has axed LMTRNS`YVZQYPc_dPL]ɪ^M`ORP_QZ] the Mining and Petroleum Training Service, which trains workers for the minerals and oil and gas industry. Money for the MAPTS budget for 1T^NLWDPL] bSTNSMPRTY^TY5`Wd SL^MPPYN`_ #[P]NPY_LNNZ]OTYR_Z Bill Bieber, who directs the program. ?SL_ɪ^L]PO`N_TZYQ]ZX"L dPL]_Z #LdPL] ɭ?ST^T^OPaL^_L_TYR4ɪXYZ_^`]P how we can do this,” to operate the dPL][]ZR]LX-TPMP]^LTO Another 35 percent cut is coming TY1T^NLWDPL] And the annual allocation to MAPTS of state Training and Vocational Edu- NL_TZY ;]ZR]LX ?A0; Q`YO^ bSTNS NZXP Q]ZX _SP /P[L]_XPY_ ZQ 7LMZ] and Workforce Development through _SP`YTaP]^T_dT^MPTYRN`_ [P]NPY_ The university itself is reeling from M`ORP_^SZ]_QLWW^?SP]PL XTWWTZY cut this year to UA, forced by vetoes made by Gov. Mike Dunleavy, and im- [LN_^ N]PL_PO Md _SP .:A4/ $ aT]`^ LOOLYZ_SP] XTWWTZYTYNZ^_^LYO lost revenues. ,WW_ST^_Z_LW^_Z XTWWTZYTY]P - O`NPOQ`YO^QZ]1D ?SP`YTaP] - sity has had to dip into cash reserves to help cover the gap. MAPTS gets money from other sources including federal grants — its ZaP]LWW M`ORP_ T^ LMZ`_ XTWWTZY L year — but state dollars through the university provide core funding that [Ld^QZ]_SP_]LTYTYR^_Lʬ_SPR`_^ZQ the operation. Without this there would be much less money to provide instruction. There are now seven instructors and _S]PP^`[[Z]_^_Lʬ For mining, the MAPTS training is critical. Workers in mining need fed- P]LW XTYP ^LQP_d _]LTYTYR NP]_TʭNL_P^ and MAPTS is the only source for this in the state. Contractors who support _SP TYO`^_]d LW^Z YPPO NP]_TʭNL_TZY^ for their employees, and placer min-
Photo Courtesy MAPTS 8LI2MRMRKERH5IXVSPIYQ8VEMRMRKIVZMGI 2&58TVSKVEQSǺIVWTSXIRXMEP QMRIVWEYRMUYILERHWSRIHYGEXMSRMRQMRMRKFYXMWYRHIVXLVIEXEQMHWIZIVI GYXWJVSQXLI9RMZIVWMX]SJ&PEWOEW]WXIQ
ers get them, too. Hecla Greens Creek Mining, own- er and operator of the underground Greens Creek mine in Southeast Alas- ka, is one company that uses the program heavily. Greens Creek re- cruits within Alaska and depends on MAPTS to give raw recruits enough entry-level skills to work safely as beginning underground miners and then pick up more skills on the job, said Mike Satre, Hecla Greens Creek 8TYTYR.Zɪ^XLYLRP]ZQRZaP]YXPY_ and community relations. ɭBP ]PN]`T_ ^[PNTʭNLWWd QZ] ,WL^ - kans who have no mining experience LYO XLVP _SPX PX[WZdXPY_ ZʬP]^ contingent upon successfully com- pleting the MAPTS course,” said Satre said. That successful training at the be- ginning helps Greens Creek employ- PP^ʭ_TY_Z_SPT]UZM^LYOT_MZZ^_^]P - tention. That means lower turnover, and lower costs. Forty-eight new hires at the mine
in the past six years are graduates of MAPTS, he said. Seventy percent of those are still on the job. 1]ZX _Z $8,;?>_]LTYPO ! XTYP]^ LYO ^`[[Z]_ bZ]VP]^ 9TYP_d_bZ[P]NPY_SLOUZM^ZYR]LO - `L_TZY7ZYR_P]X]P_PY_TZYQZ]PX - [WZdP]^SL^MPPY#$[P]NPY_ 8,;?>_]LTY^LMZ`_ ^_`OPY_^ per year in mining, oil and gas, safety and environmental compliance. Despite the belt-tightening, MAPTS has a good record in raising funds. “We bought and paid for our mine training facilities and program devel- Z[XPY_L_/PW_LbT_SYZLOOT_TZYLW UA funding,” Bieber said. “It was bought and paid for by a combination of earned revenue from industry and earned revenue from a federal grant that helped cover oper- L_TYRNZ^_^QZ]_SPʭ]^__S]PPdPL]^ɮ he said. “That is something of which we are very proud.”
56
The Alaska Miner
July 2020
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator