Assembly delays decision on borough-funded UAS Ketchikan workforce pilot, asks for concrete plan

The Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly on April 21 heard a presentation from Bill Urquhart, director of the University of Alaska Southeast’s Ketchikan campus, on a proposed borough-funded career and technical education pilot aimed at training local residents for maritime and health-care jobs. After discussion, the assembly voted to postpone a motion to direct staff to enter a grant agreement with UAS until the second assembly meeting in June and asked staff and the university to return with a concrete program budget and measurable outcomes.

Urquhart told the assembly the proposal focuses on “high demand, high paying jobs” in marine transportation, health care and skilled trades and described a year-one pilot that would support expansion of training capacity. He said certain programs are costly to run because of equipment and clinical supervision requirements and noted limits created by certification rules: “we train certified nurse aides ... the Alaska Board of Nursing requires us to…