Labor Department outlines staffing shortfalls, new immigrant assistance and training expansions

The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development told the House Labor and Commerce Committee on April 6 that the agency is facing rising vacancy rates, an aging workforce and several new programs aimed at expanding training and immigrant support.

Commissioner Munoz described the department’s recently adopted vision and program priorities and highlighted new initiatives, saying the leadership “adopted a vision statement for the work, which is to create a DOL, Department of Labor and Workforce Development workforce, where people want to work with whom other state departments want to partner, which industry champions and the public appreciates.”

Why it matters: staffing shortfalls affect the department’s ability to deliver training, licensing and unemployment services statewide, while program changes for immigrant assistance, licensing reciprocity and third‑party testing are intended to speed workers into jobs and reduce barriers in rural areas.

The department said its footprint covers the state from Ketchikan to Utqiaġvik and that it oversees 14 job centers, a new satellite job center in Kotzebue, eight construction academies and the Alaska Vocational Technical Center in Seward. It listed seven divisions including Employment and Training Services, Workers’ Compensation, the Alaska Labor Relations Agency, the Labor Standards and Safety Division, vocational rehabilitation and the Alaska Workforce Investment Board.

Administrative Services Director Dan DeBartolo provided staffing figures and trends. He said the department was budgeted for about 939 permanent positions in fiscal 2009 and about 718 at the start of the most recent fiscal year, and noted a long‑term reduction in budgeted positions. “During FY 29, we were at a count of 818 filled positions, which represented a vacancy rate of 12.9% for the year,” DeBartolo said; he added that at the end of last fiscal year the department’s vacancy rate was about 20.6% and that, as of Dec. 31, the vacancy rate pulled from internal records was about 22.2%.

DeBartolo and the commissioner stressed demographic pressures: the department’s average employee age is several years older than the statewide average, and roughly 20% of employees are eligible for retirement within five years. DeBartolo warned that accelerated promotions and faster internal turnover can leave gaps in institutional knowledge and succession planning.

Programs and services: the department reported several program updates meant to expand training and speed workers into employment. Highlights included: - Office of Citizenship Assistance: opened in early December and staffed by a program coordinator, the office helps legal immigrants with employment and credential translation; Munoz said the department can report specifics later and noted roughly “approximately 200 Filipino teachers teaching mostly in rural Alaska” as one example of an occupation group identified so far. The department is recruiting two additional staff for the office. - Training expansion: the department said industry‑certified trainings supported through the Alaska job center network rose about 85% year over year after targeted outreach to 18‑ to 30‑year‑olds. The department cited projected job growth in construction and health care going into 2025. - Certification and licensing: the department oversees the certificate‑of‑fitness process for plumbers and electricians. It said it currently has reciprocity agreements with 13 states and is pursuing a regulatory package to expand reciprocity, implement a provisional‑licensing law passed last year (allowing provisional acceptance of out‑of‑state licenses for up to one year) and recognize certain military training toward COF eligibility. The department also implemented third‑party testing so training providers can proctor COF exams locally. - OSHA diversionary program: the department’s enforcement and consultation units created an Alaska Occupational Safety and Health diversionary program that allows certain businesses to complete consultation and training in lieu of paying financial penalties; the department reported more than $600,000 in penalties eliminated through the program last year. - Recruitment partnerships: the department became a DOD SkillBridge site to recruit exiting military personnel, with the Department of Defense covering the first six months of wages for hires made through the program. - Unemployment insurance: the department said the unemployment insurance trust fund is robust, reporting the fund “now is over $700,000,000” and noting it reached lower levels during the pandemic.

Committee members asked for data and follow‑up. Representative Carrie asked for a breakdown of who the Office of Citizenship Assistance has served; Munoz said the office can provide a occupations breakdown. Representative Sadler and others pressed on classification studies and the department’s succession planning; DeBartolo said a vocational rehabilitation specialist classification study is in progress for that division and that broader statewide studies remain under consideration.

The department provided several quantitative clarifications during the hearing: 14 job centers (including a satellite in Kotzebue); about 30 STEP grantees in the last fiscal year; 8 construction academies; reciprocity with 13 states for electrical COF; roughly $700 million in the unemployment trust fund; and an internal vacancy rate near 22% as of late December.

Ending: committee co‑chairs thanked department staff and scheduled follow‑up hearings on apprenticeship and childcare programs. No formal committee actions or votes were taken during the department overview portion of the meeting.