By Delcenia Cosman

Homer Independent Press

A workforce development event at one of the largest skilled trades employers in Homer last week highlighted the importance of and demand for career and technical education in Alaska. 

But while demand increases, Homer High School has seen a decline in its CTE program over the last five years. 

Last Thursday, representatives from Wells Fargo joined “Dirty Jobs” television host Mike Rowe, Bay Welding owner Eric Engebretsen, Alaska Vocational Technical Center Director Cory Ortiz and Gov. Mike Dunleavy to discuss and witness the impact that access to CTE has on the local workforce and economy. Rowe spoke with Engebretsen and several Bay Weld employees — many of whom are AVTEC graduates — to learn why they chose the training and career paths they did and how their work impacts the local maritime industry. Following the public portion of the event, Dunleavy toured the Bay Weld Boats facility.

Wells Fargo also presented AVTEC with a $250,000 donation to support student scholarships and teacher recruitment.

Alison Hawkins, head of external relations at Wells Fargo, said that to help entrepreneurs and businesses grow, she and other representatives looked for ways to promote bringing more people into the skilled trades workforce. She contacted Ortiz directly to learn about AVTEC’s needs and said she walked away from the conversation “really impressed and felt like investing in Alaska would be money well spent.”

Ortiz said that AVTEC has a 92% completion rate and a 93% placement rate — meaning that nine out of 10 AVTEC students graduate and nine out of 10 graduates become employed in their fields of study. 

According to Engebretsen, 20% of Bay Welding’s workforce “is a direct result of AVTEC.” 

“We’re all about workforce training and supporting the next generation of Alaskans and the workforce that we have here. Being able to support student scholarships and being able to support faculty recruitment will be a significant help to potentially growing training hours,” Ortiz said. 

Engebretsen said he was grateful for the spotlight that the event placed on Homer’s workforce, products and skills availability.

“The development of skilled tradesmen and women is vital to running a business like this,” he said. “This is something we care about a lot.”

Bay Welding senior manager Kele Bottineau graduated from AVTEC’s welding program in 2012 and said enrolling in the program was one of the best decisions he could have made.

“The hands-on training, attention to detail and emphasis on safety gave me the skills and confidence I needed to step into the workforce and succeed from day one,” he said. “One of the most rewarding parts of my career has been watching a boat go from a simple drawing on paper to a finished vessel running through the water. There’s a real sense of pride in knowing that something you helped build will be used for years to come.” 

Dunleavy said the Kenai Peninsula historically has been the economic hub of Alaska, from local fisheries to oil and gas development and other industries.

“Just a tremendous place for blue-collar work. This is the engine, and it’s not over … the best years for Alaska are the next 50 years…. You will be the ones that build Alaska,” he said. 

While AVTEC represents CTE opportunities in post-secondary education, demand for training in skilled trades is also increasing at the high school level. According to the 2025-26 end-of-year report from the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, CTE programs districtwide saw significant growth, with expanded student participation in career pathways and increases in earnings of both industry-recognized credentials and college credit attainment. Students completed more than 4,200 CTE courses districtwide and earned 900 industry-recognized certifications — a 70% increase from 530 certifications earned in the 2024-2025 academic year. 

Still, district schools like Homer High see room for improvement in meeting student demand for CTE programs.

Homer High School offers CTE courses including welding, woodworking, foods and computer science. Principal Eric Pederson said the school will try to offer a small engines course this year.

Two main hardships for increasing CTE offerings, he said, are funding and recruiting qualified teachers.

“We have a beautiful shop area that is currently underutilized,” he said. “One of the other things we wanted to do was offer a Yamaha outboard motors class, but we just don’t have the personnel to do it.”

Currently, Homer High School employs one part-time CTE teacher, who oversees the welding course and a CAD software course. Other school staff who have the relevant expertise manage the foods and computer science courses.

While demand for CTE is up around the district, HHS assistant principal Katie Bynagle said their CTE program has declined in the past five years.

“We used to have a full-time teacher, and now we have half of a teacher. In its heyday, we had one teacher per shop,” she said. “Having only a half-time teacher is very limiting.”

Pederson said the school would like to provide students with more exposure to the skilled trades.

“I’m happy for AVTEC — we send a number of kids there. They’re wonderful for our state, and I’m happy the governor is behind that also. But I definitely feel like high school is the gateway to that,” he said. 

Bynagle agreed and called secondary education CTE programs a “leg up.”

“The more exposure we give them here, and the more certifications they can earn while they’re in high school, will give them a leg up earlier on,” she said. 

KPBSD does partner with postsecondary institutions like the University of Alaska, Kenai Peninsula College and AVTEC to align district CTE programs with student interests, regional workforce needs and college credit and training opportunities. In the last academic year, KPBSD students earned 528 college credits through district programs, an increase from 428 credits in the 2024-25 school year. 

“By embedding college credit into high school CTE pathways, KPBSD students are able to reduce postsecondary costs, accelerate progress toward certificates and degrees, and better understand the expectations of college-level career training,” the end-of-year report states. 

For the current academic year, according to the report, KPBSD will prioritize developing small-school cohort camps and adding districtwide intensive learning opportunities for students in the district CTE program. KPBSD will also strengthen resource sharing among schools to maximize instructor expertise, equipment, curriculum and community partnerships to expand student opportunities.

Pederson said dedicated funding from the state for secondary education CTE programs would help those programs better succeed in recruiting qualified teachers and meeting student demand.

“We do a great job at Homer High with the academics. I don’t think it has to be an either/or, but I do feel like if (a majority) of our kids are going into the workforce or trades, we’re out of alignment with that a little bit,” he said. 

Jeff Turner, director of communications for the governor’s office, said Wednesday that amending the state education funding formula to include additional CTE funding would require a statutory change by the Legislature. 

The Alaska Department of Labor also administers the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Youth Program, which Turner said supports youth ages 14-24 to help them finish high school, gain work experience and access supportive services.