Workforce Development

This 40-hour seminar meets the requirements of the State of Alaska DOL 8 AAC 61.600-790, Federal OSHA, 29 CFR 1910, 1915 and 1926 and the Environmental Protection Agency 40 CFR Part 763 Subpart E. It covers the basics of asbestos abatement work through lectures, films, and hands-on workshops. This certification is required for all workers, contractors, and supervisors, and recommended for health and safety professionals, maintenance and custodial personnel, school administrators, engineers, and project managers in the asbestos field.

This 8-hour seminar meets the requirements of the State of Alaska, Department of Labor (DOL), Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) and EPA/AHERA. It satisfies the requirements of the yearly AHERA refresher and the DOL OSH one year renewal. This seminar is designed to review the material covered in the 40-Hour Asbestos certification course; cover new rules/regulations passed in the last year; discuss problems encountered in the field, new abatement techniques, and safety and health issues. This class is open to anyone currently holding a 40-hour Asbestos Abatement Certification.

This course will give individuals the basic knowledge of chemical safety, electrical safety, blood-borne pathogens, and PPE as it relates to custodial work. Students will be better able to recognize specific hazards related to their custodial work, the chemicals they clean with, and the equipment they use.

This six-day course is designed to assist officers in preparing successful presentation for many settings to include classroom, department in-service training and public presentations. This course will assist officers in preparing lesson plans, improve teaching strategies, and develop PowerPoint presentations.

This is an extension of the NCCER Instructor Certification Training Program (ICTP) class. Successful participants will gain experience in proctoring knowledge exams and evaluation performance profiles.

Participants are introduced to the basic concepts of time management to include planning and prioritizing, setting boundaries, setting realistic goals, understanding priorities, and eliminating time wasters. All concepts are explored in the context of Iñupiaq and Western cultures.

This seminar familiarizes participants with the general principles of typical communications with a focus on appropriate format, language, style, structure, and mechanics. Types of communications covered include: email, fax, memos, and business letters. The workshop is very interactive, and participants have many opportunities to practice writing business correspondence.

MS Word will cover a spectrum of topics and exercises from beginner to more advanced. Topics include formatting, keyboard shortcuts, tables, forms, mail merge, macros, and others. Upon completion, participants will be better equipped and more efficient. in navigating Word 2010. Can be taken at a beginner, intermediate, or advanced level.

This course will give participants an overview of Microsoft Office Excel 2007. Topics may include navigating documents, formatting cells, formulas, charts, pivot tables, analysis tools, and macros. Participants will be more efficient and comfortable in excel upon completion. Can be taken at a beginner, intermediate, or advanced level.

This workshop teaches essential strategies for establishing and maintaining productive work relationships in a professional environment. Topics include cultural views of conflict, role of perception of goals, resources and interference, and destructive and constructive approaches to conflict resolution.

Students will learn how to navigate PowerPoint and learn tip & tricks to save time and make great looking presentation.

Students will learn the basics of personal finance and accounting. Concepts will include how stocks and bonds work, how loans work, interest rates, debits and credits, and balancing a budget.

This series is intended to teach the student skills and techniques that will make them a more valuable employee. A total of six days include one-day sessions each on Microsoft Word, Excel, and Power Point. Other subjects covered include customer service, recognizing your talents, time management, resume building, applications and interviewing, office machines and many more basic office skills. Students can take any or all segments of the series.

Students will bring a rough draft of their resume with them to the workshop. The outcome from the workshop will be a revamped, effective, attention-getting resume to assist with obtaining desirable employment.

Students will learn to anticipate problems and prevent obstacles. They will be able to plan better for the future and take timely, effective action. They will also improve their time management, increase their productivity at work and develop positive relationships with customers and corkers.

Step by step guide to project management including Outline, Managing people, time, resources, and schedules, Budget-Costs and profits, goals, Communications, risk management.

This class teaches basic information on business etiquette in terms of proper communication, e-mail, telephone skills, attire, language, and punctuality.

Robert's Rules of Order will teach how to run a meeting correctly using the widely used processes out lined in the book Robert's Rules of Order.

A project is a short-term endeavor based on specifications and requirements that are driven by functional, budgetary, customer and time constraints. This class provides an overview of Program Evaluation and Review Technique and Critical Path Method (PERT/CPM). PERT/CPM helps managers to plan the timing of projects involving sequential activities. Charts are created to identify the time required to complete activities in a project, and the order of the steps. In this course, students will learn to create and utilize PERT/CPM charts.

Learn how to more effectively communicate with authority and impact. Strengthen your ability to stand up for yourself and others in a calm and positive way, without being either aggressive or passively accepting of something “wrong”. Learn skills to be a stronger and more confident communicator.

Students will learn how to better understand, express, and manage their emotions at work. The course will help students develop better relationship with their teammates and improve problem solving skills.

Students will learn how to communicate more effectively. The class will cover tips for being a better listener, have better relationships and develop problem-solving skills.

Students will discuss the importance of higher self-esteem, simple and effective ways to boost their self-confidence and how to communicate more effectively.

Students will learn about local job opportunities, and how to apply at various local entities. At the end of the training students will be confident in how to find a job posting and apply for it.

Students will learn what makes a team effective, assess opportunities for improving teamwork and tips for promoting teamwork in their group.

As part of the Project Management Track, students will be introduced to 15 tools used by project managers to define problems, collect data, determine causes of the problem, generate ideas, and take action. Tools the students will learn include Ishikawa's cause-and-effect diagram, the 5 whys method, drill down techniques, Pareto charts, overcoming mental blocks, brainstorming, SCAMPER, multi-voting, mind mapping, flow charting, quality circles, sequential questioning, paired comparisons, and action planning.

This intermediate workshop will provide students handson experience using Excel functions and tools to summarize and analyze data. Topics include sorting, filtering, and grouping data, subtotals, data validation, what-if scenarios, tables and charts, and conditional formatting.

Mental Health First Aid is an 8-hour training course designed to give members of the public key skills to help someone who is developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis. Just as CPR training helps a layperson without medical training assist an individual experiencing a heart attack, Mental Health First Aid training helps a layperson assist someone experiencing a mental health crisis.

The MANDT System is a comprehensive integrated approach preventing, de-escalating, and if necessary, intervening when the behavior of an individual poses a threat of harm. The focus of the MANDT System is on building healthy relationships with all the stakeholders within an organization.

This workshop offers students a hands-on class in the basics of diagnostics and repair. Participants learn common problems associated with engine failure, how to diagnose a problem and recognize the different parts of a small engine, looking at the inner workings of an actual small engine. The second half of the workshop will focus on replacing any necessary parts, fluids or belts and finish up on how to properly care for small engines.

This class teaches skills for the preventative maintenance, troubleshooting, and repair of oil-fired Toyo, Monitors, and gas-fired Rinnai heaters (where appropriate). Training will be onsite in the villages and will provide both classroom and hands-on learning opportunities.

This program trains students in residential appliance and refrigeration repair. Laboratory activities involve hands-on exercises. Students may elect to earn refrigerant recovery certification through an EPA required certification exam. The purpose of this program is to prepare students for employment as electric home appliance and certificated refrigeration technicians or appliance service representatives.

The goal of this course is to provide Disaster Site Workers awareness of the safety and health hazards they may encounter as well as of the importance of respiratory and other personal protective equipment and proper decontamination procedures that may be used to mitigate the hazards. Participants will support the use of an Incident Command System (ICS) through the safe performance of their job responsibilities. They’ll be able to show awareness of effects of traumatic incident stress that can result from working conditions and measures to reduce this stress.

This course was specifically created for the oil field worker in Alaska and covers safety procedures, load securement of pipe, hoisting and lifting operations with slings, ropes and forklifts, cribbing and blocking, hazardous materials awareness, emergency response, offshore survival and fire suppression. Individual industry specific certificates will be issued for certain sections of this course.

This course provides students with basic understanding of electricity, what it is and how it works, and how to work safely with it. It is designed for students/worker who are not planning on becoming electricians but have a need to work with and understand it in the home/workplace. Topics include electrical safety, theory, standard maintenance skills, Nation Electric Code, test equipment and real-world examples.

Learn mechanical diagnostics and repairs including air handling units, ventilation systems balancing, supply and return air systems, heat transfer concepts (hydronic and air) combustion basics, gun burners and components, combustion analysis and adjustment, controls systems characteristics and components, circulating pumps, and troubleshooting from the boiler through the facility.

Learn mechanical diagnostics and repairs including air handling units, ventilation systems balancing, supply and return air systems, heat transfer concepts (hydronic and air) combustion basics, gun burners and components, combustion analysis and adjustment, controls systems characteristics and components, circulating pumps, and troubleshooting from the boiler through the facility.

This is a class aimed directly at maintenance workers serving homes in the North Slope Borough. The class will teach skills needed to maintain the plumbing for homes both in Utqiaġvik and in the seven villages. This class will be relevant to employees of the NSB Housing Department, TNHA, or the NSBSD Housing Department.

This class will instruct students on the repair and maintenance of boilers including, but not limited to: Weil McLain & Burnham, Viessmann, Guardian York/American Standard, Modine, Rinnai, Trane M, and Toyo Stoves.

This 12-hour course uses the Seven Steps to Survival as a framework to teach basic safe boating topics. It covers preparation for boat trips, float plans, navigation rules, cold water survival skills, personal flotation devices (PFDs), signals, compasses and charts, and GPS. It includes pool or cold-water practice of cold-water survival skills.

This course uses the Seven Steps to Survival as a framework to train in cold water survival skills. It covers cold water immersion, cold water near-drowning, hypothermia, and protection techniques. Students will discuss cold water survival techniques and assess personal flotation devices (PFDs). Using immersion suits, students practice survival techniques in a pool or cold water. Use of compasses to follow a course; man overboard; survival kits, and different types of signals, including EPIRBS, flares and Mayday may be practiced in cold water. This course emphasizes handson learning.

The course consists of two parts: (1) Alaska Water Wise - A Course for Alaskan Boaters is an entry level boating course that presents a variety of boating topics that foster safe operation of boats in compliance with Alaska’s boating laws. The course is taught by State-registered boating safety instructors. This course is designed in a modular format that can be taught as a continuous course or taught in parts over several days. (2) Includes overview of USCG licensing; vessel licensing and other legal requirements; chart navigation; vessel stability; emergency procedures; mapping out a course of action and one-on-one interviews in preparation for a maritime career.

AMSEA’s course is U.S. Coast Guard accepted, required for commercial fishing vessels, and recommended for captains and crew serving on any commercial or personal vessel. This course helps mariners prepare for some of the most common at-sea emergencies such as onboard fire, unintentional flooding, person overboard, and abandon ship. Students practice with emergency equipment such as immersion suits, life rafts, signaling devices, (maydays, EPIRBs, pyrotechnics, etc.), flooding control kits, firefighting gear, and more. Students also become familiar with practices such as crew duties during emergencies, helicopter rescue, dewatering pumps, cold water survival skills, and more. It provides practical information on the survival equipment found on most commercial vessels and on conducting emergency onboard drills. Skills are learned in a hands-on format using the equipment. It meets the USCG training requirements for conducting emergency drills on commercial fishing vessels. Upon successful course completion students earn drill conductor certification cards.

This is a U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) approved course for those with boating experience wanting to earn a U.S.C.G. license. Topics include navigation, seamanship, safety, rules of the road, and will prepare students to pass the requisite USCG exams. Depending on sea service and other USCG requirements, a person passing this course is eligible to apply for an Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessel license to 100 tons (6-pack) Students should plan to spend significant time studying on their own in addition to the 60 – 88 hours of classroom instruction and lab exercises. After successful completion, students have one year to fulfill USCG requirements including obtaining a First Aid/ CPR certification, documenting sea service, USCG/ DOT physical exam, drug test, character references and a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC). OUPV without Master – 3 credits OUPV with Master – 4 Credits

This course will introduce North Slope students to the lucrative field of eco-tourism, providing a hands-on opportunity in the field. Students will learn the skills required of those hoping to start careers in guiding.

The Certified Pool Operators (CPO) course provides the basic knowledge, techniques and skills of pool and spa operations. Participants will gain a better understanding of the operator’s role in pool care and management. The CPO certification program includes pool and spa chemistry, testing, treatment, filtration, maintenance, automatic feeding equipment and government requirements. The two-day class is taught by a National Swimming Pool Foundation Instructor and covers information from the CPO Handbook including a new section on metric calculations. The instructor will also review local and state codes. Students must pass the required open book exam to obtain their CPO certification.

This class is a technician level class that investigates glycol systems, pumps, and lead-lag boiler systems. It covers the troubleshooting of electrical and mechanical systems, auxiliary systems, and operating controls; the review and diagnosing of problems related to burners, including oil and gas controls and safety. Depending on course length, the class will cover State of Alaska safety codes, pressure vessels and burner safety. Students may opt to take the Class IV Boiler Certification Exam.

This is an introductory course designed for anyone who needs to understand fundamental operation of boilers in order to improve efficiencies and safety at their facilities or in the home. We will cover basic trouble-shooting and mechanical systems, diagnose common problems related to burners, including parts, fuel controls and safety. The process for burner tuning and tools used for efficiency testing will be covered.

This course provides participants with the knowledge needed to safely and effectively oversee tank farm fuel transfers and to handle the initial stages of spill response. Students will become familiar with tank farm inspection and maintenance procedures. They will learn to follow best-management-practices in the transfer of fuel products. During the spill response and ICS portion of the course, students will become familiar with the emergency procedures outlined in their facility response plan. They will also learn to plan, and document required response exercises that provide an opportunity to practice and improve response capabilities.

Students in this course will have the opportunity to modify existing hydronic heating systems and add additional heating loops to a gas fired system, work on troubleshooting techniques on various heating systems within participants’ work environment in the community. The object of the course is to give students the tools to identify and solve problems within a heating system with a mixture of ‘hands-on’ work and class instruction while performing work on operating heating systems. Course will follow local heating resource opportunities as they are available in the community.

This is the ADEC-approved introductory class for water treatment and distribution system operators in Alaska. The course includes an introduction to water chemistry, microbiology, hydraulics, math, electrical principals, and pumping systems. Ground and surface water source treatment technologies and basic operational practices used in Alaska are presented, along with a description of storage and distribution system equipment and O&M procedures. Sampling, monitoring, and other regulatory requirements are presented. Students who complete the course can take the ADEC Provisional Level 1 Water Treatment and Water Distribution System Operator certification exams at the end of the course.

A review class for operators preparing to take Level 1 – 4 ADEC water treatment or distribution certification exams. Practice exams in the style of the Association of Boards of Certification exams used by ADEC will be presented and reviewed in class. Remember application deadline information. See http://www.dec.alaska.gov/water/opcert/trainingcalendar.htm.

This is the ADEC-approved introductory class for wastewater collection and treatment system operators in Alaska. The course includes an introduction to water chemistry, microbiology, hydraulics, math, electrical principals, and pumping systems. Preliminary, primary, and secondary treatment technologies and basic operational practices used in Alaska are presented, along with a description of wastewater collection system equipment and O&M procedures. Sampling, monitoring, and other regulatory requirements are presented. Students who complete the course can take the ADEC Provisional Level 1 Wastewater Collection and Wastewater Treatment System Operator certification exams at the end of the course.

A review class for operators preparing to take Level 1 – 4 ADEC wastewater treatment or collection certification exams. Practice exams in the style of the Association of Boards of Certification exams used by ADEC will be presented and reviewed in class. Remember application deadline information. See http://www.dec.alaska.gov/water/opcert/trainingcalenda r.htm.

The program provides an introduction to membrane technology, description of the principles of membrane elements including basic theory, membrane terminology and membrane structure. Illustration of the membrane system design process and overview of systems operation will be discussed. It includes practical information about performance and operating conditions of reverse osmosis and nanofiltration technology for brackish and seawater desalting. A section of the seminar is dedicated to the modern microfiltration and ultrafiltration technology applied for treatment of potable water and as a pretreatment of feed water for RO systems. Course material also includes information on process and equipment applied in membrane bioreactor (MBR) systems including operation and maintenance considerations. An overview of commercial MF and UF membrane products will be provided. Description of system configurations will be reviewed.

This is the intermediate level water treatment operator training course developed for the ADEC for operators advancing their licensing to a Level 2 through 4. The course provides a thorough overview of state of the art in Alaskan water treatment technology including water sources, pretreatment, coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, disinfection, membrane separation, softening, fluoridation, iron and manganese treatment, corrosion control, and an update on current ADEC and EPA drinking water regulations. Students completing the 4-day course will receive 3.0 CEUs toward operator certification in the State of Alaska. Students who have at least a Level 1 ADEC Water Treatment License can take the next level higher Water Treatment License exam the day following completion of the course.