Kodiak Workforce Forum: Why This Matters Now
Across Kodiak, employers are working to hire, train, and retain employees in a tight labor market. At the same time, schools, training programs, and workforce partners are building pathways to prepare people for those jobs.
Those efforts are important, and they are happening across our community.
What is often missing is a consistent connection between them.
The Kodiak Workforce Forum was created to help strengthen that connection.
On April 28, employers, educators, and workforce partners will come together for a focused conversation about how we better align today’s workforce needs with the pathways being built for tomorrow.
This is not a presentation-only event.
It is a working session designed to bring industry and education into closer alignment in a way that is practical and informed by local experience.
For employers, this is an opportunity to be part of that work.
Your participation helps ensure that training programs reflect real workforce needs. It helps shape how students are introduced to career opportunities. It strengthens connections between businesses and the systems that support hiring, training, and retention.
It also provides direct access to information about emerging industries, new training opportunities, and resources that can support your workforce today.
The forum will include three focused segments:
Updates on mariculture and emerging economic activity, and what that means for Kodiak’s workforce
Information on Career and Technical Education, training programs, and technology-enabled opportunities
A facilitated discussion where employers can share input that directly informs workforce development efforts, including the Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment
Each segment builds on the next, creating a clear picture of where Kodiak is today and where we are headed.
This forum reflects KEDC’s Career Connections work, which focuses on connecting education, employers, and emerging talent through stronger coordination and clearer pathways.
This work does not happen without employer involvement.
When employers are at the table, workforce development becomes more practical, more relevant, and more effective. When that connection is missing, gaps grow between what is needed and what is being prepared.
This forum is one step in closing that gap.
We encourage employers, educators, and workforce partners to attend and be part of this conversation.
Register to attend and be part of shaping Kodiak’s workforce.
