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Alaska Labor Department pitches expanded training, flexibility for STEP grants in FY27 budget
Summary
Department of Labor officials told the House Finance Committee the governor's FY27 budget would boost short-term and industry-recognized training, move STEP funding into budget language for flexibility, and highlight AVTEC program expansions with strong enrollment. Lawmakers requested more granular lists of grantees and funding breakdowns.
The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development told the House Finance Committee on Jan. 28 that its FY27 budget focuses on expanding short-term, employer-aligned training and preserving capacity at the Alaska Vocational Technical Center (AVTEC).
Commissioner Kathy Munoz opened the department's overview and said AVTEC has expanded industrial electricity and plumbing programs, launched an industrial machine and maintenance program, and is enrolling students above pre‑pandemic levels. "Enrollment is strong," Munoz said, adding that the department sees waiting lists for its most popular programs.
Why it matters: Committee members pressed for counts and locations because workforce training drives local hiring and supports upcoming projects such as the gas‑line workforce effort. Representative Galvin asked how many Alaskans the AVTEC completion rates represent; Munoz and Administrative Services Director Dan DeBartolo said longer AVTEC programs enroll about 120 students and that, including short‑term employer partnerships, the department estimates roughly 1,000 participants statewide and agreed to supply exact figures to the committee.
The governor's budget would also change how STEP (the State Training and Employment Program) is handled. DeBartolo told lawmakers the administration seeks to move the STEP appropriation from the numbers section into budget language so the department can obtain additional authority late in a fiscal year when extra employer‑oriented training demand arises. "Language allows us to go to OMB and get that adjustment in language so we can get those funds on the street as soon as possible," DeBartolo said. He characterized TVEP (the Technical and Vocational Education Program) as a statutorily‑allocated program and STEP as a competitive grant process administered through the Alaska Workforce Investment Board.
Committee members sought detail about grantees and private partnerships. Munoz said the Fairbanks Pipeline Training Center was added to TVEP and received new funding through TVEP this cycle; DeBartolo later stated the Fairbanks center received about $1,700,000 in new revenue via TVEP. On private partnerships, Munoz described a multi‑year arrangement in which employers such as Trident Seafoods underwrite specific training cohorts and can send a set number of students to AVTEC programs.
The department also drew attention to an Office of Citizenship Assistance that has served more than 250 legal immigrants with employment and digital‑literacy supports, and to a diversionary occupational safety program offering businesses with certain first‑time safety violations the opportunity to make safety improvements in exchange for waiving financial penalties.
What happens next: Lawmakers asked the department to provide lists of STEP grantees, TVEP recipients and eligible training providers, plus a breakdown of federal funding authority versus actuals. DeBartolo and Munoz agreed to supply those materials to the committee.
Ending note: The presentation framed the budget request as both sustaining existing vocational capacity at AVTEC and increasing flexibility to deploy training dollars quickly when demand or employer partnerships arise.
