The hiring of local village residents on village based construction projects has long been an area of concern among village tribal council leaders. Their concern arises from seeing people from urban communities coming into the rural villages to work on construction projects, while the local residents stand and watch the good jobs and wages go out of the village. This concern provided the direction and support to develop a new training program that would focus on upgrading the quality and quantity of local villages residents trained to work on various construction projects. These projects, ranging from medical centers, new school construction, multi-purpose buildings, waste water treatment plants, tank farms, to residential housing units being constructed in the villages.
The Construction Trades Technology Program was developed to meet the need of the village resident to gain the necessary skills to work on the construction projects. The CTT program leaders have met with many village residents and council members to develop the program. Input from these residents identified the need to deliver residential carpentry, residential electrical and plumbing, along with safety, tool use, and how to work with people at the workplace. The CTT curriculum follows a nationally recognized industry driven standard system, the National Center for Construction Education and Research, (NCCER) which has been developed over the past several years to meet the needs of industry and contractors.
Contractors have also met with the Interior-Aleutians Campus program directors and assisted in the program development. The Interior Regional Housing Authority (IRHA), Tanacross Village Council (TVC), and the Council of Athabascan Tribal Government (CATG) have endorsed the program concept and supported the program goals of local hire on housing construction in the various villages in the Interior Region of Alaska.
The training program consists of the Core Curriculum which introduces the new student to workplace safety, hand and power tool usage, blueprint reading, construction math, employability, and communications. Residential Carpentry Level I provides additional studies associated with framing of floors, wall, roofs, and installing exterior windows and doors. Residential Carpentry Level II follows with interior finish, moisture protection, insulation, stairs, and metal stud applications.
Upon completion of the carpentry program the students enrolls in Business Writing, Human Relations, Health (CPR and First Aid) and participates in a practicum course of actually working on a construction project. The student who finishes the required course work is then eligible for the Certificate in Construction Trades Technology from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Further enrollment in Residential Electrical Level’s I and II, which covers such topics as electrical safety, residential wiring, boxes, fittings, conductors, circuit breakers, residential and commercial grounding, prepare the student for an introduction to the electrical trade. Plumbing Level’s I and II, which include topics related to the plumbing industry such as intro to plumbing tools, faucets and fixtures, testing DWV piping, plastic pipe and cooper pipe applications, valves, and fuel gas systems, are all part of the introduction to the plumbing industry.
When the student completes the construction related coursework and the required University classes in advanced communications, human relations, and construction math, the student is eligible to apply for the Associates of Applied Science in Construction Trades Technology.
