Invent your future at UAA

As the American computer scientist Alan Kay said: “The best way to predict the future is to invent it”. It should be clear today that the pandemic has changed a lot. Our workforce is undergoing tremendous transformation and upheaval, and career and employment opportunities are opening up before our eyes.

There’s so much we don’t yet know about what the workforce of tomorrow will look like, but at the University of Alaska Anchorage, we’re providing the tools to help students of all ages and ages. skills to chart a new course.

The pandemic has created an increase in demand for new healthcare resources, and our university is the largest provider of healthcare training in Alaska. In response, the College of Health at UAA now offers more than 45 certificates or degree program options in healthcare. We are also expanding our ability to train more nurses, physician assistants, CNA, sonographers and first responders to help meet Alaska’s health care needs and growing interest in Alaskan medical careers.

Since the onset of the pandemic, the UAA has offered a unique set of community health resources. We have trained hundreds of Alaska state contact tracers, served as a clearinghouse for state and local governments for best practices in public health, epidemiology, and healthcare policy , and converted the Alaska Airlines Center into a short-term emergency response space. .

Within the UAA’s family of campuses in south-central Alaska, we offer students a flexible approach to learning in person, online, or a hybrid of the two. Fifty-five percent of our courses are hybrid or fully online, and 45% are in-person.

Beyond healthcare, people are re-launching their careers in a wide range of industries and fields, and turning to UAA for the training they need to take them to the next level. Where people once thought, almost bizarrely, that we would work from home during the first few weeks of the pandemic, we are now seeing record job turnover as people leave their current jobs to find a new path, be it higher wages, more flexibility or remote capabilities. CNBC reports that one in four American workers left their jobs in 2021, a substantial increase even from 2019.

UAA offers a wide range of options, including career certificates focused on construction, information technology, accounting, transportation, and more. UAA offers leading career and technology programs in aviation, real estate administration and business management. From pastry chefs to welders, the UAA provides Alaskans with quality education and technical training to foster individual growth and a diverse economy. Recognizing that many Alaskans make a mid-career change, UAA offers students flexible full-time and part-time programs to meet the time demands of a busy life. Today’s registrants want to start a new career path without having to wait for a once-a-year start, and many UAA programs can launch in January, May, or September.

UAA’s fully accredited programs leverage Anchorage’s role as the state’s hub for transportation, communications, healthcare, engineering, and finance. We have forged many collaborative relationships with major Alaska employers to shape our programs and provide students with a blend of classroom experience and hands-on experience. Due to the size of our state and the distance from other metropolitan areas, the UAA offers more than you will find at other similarly sized institutions, reflecting the ingenuity that makes Alaska special and unique. .

Communities that are home to a strong university are more resilient in difficult economic times. The UAA fuels economic development and stimulates innovation through in-depth research and practical professional skills. UAA’s mission is to transform lives through teaching, research, community engagement and creative expression in a diverse and inclusive environment.

Our spring course offers are now online; registration is ongoing for current students and open registration begins November 22. Classes start in January. Come invent your future at UAA.

Sean Parnell is Chancellor of the University of Alaska Anchorage. He previously served as governor and lieutenant governor of Alaska.

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