2009 Alaska Native Youth Summer Preparedness Program

The Alaska Native Heritage Center will be conducting training classes for Alaska Native youth during the months of February, March and April.  Classes will cover becoming more aware of your culture, customer service, mentorship, public speaking, stage presence and finding employment.  Classes will be taught by the staff of the Alaska Native Heritage Center.  It is our hope that Alaska Native youth, ages 14 through 26, will have the opportunity of developing skills which will better prepare them for the competitive job market.  The classes will also benefit those Alaskan employers who are looking for youth trained in the above mentioned areas.  A further benefit will be an enhancement of the visitor experiences of those who have chosen to come to Alaska this summer. 

The program has been designed in conjunction with our Cultural and Educational Services department, which is the same department that designed and developed our after school High School program which recently won the national Coming Up Taller award that was presented at the White House in 2008. 

Initially the program was going to be offered to the students who are presently participating in our high school program.  After seeing the response from that group, it was decided to open the program up to Alaska Native youth who express an interest in attending.  Based on current costs for training available in Anchorage, the value of the program exceeds $1,000.  There will be no cost to participants in that the cost of the training will be underwritten by the Alaska Native Heritage Center and other organizations that are interested in contributing. 

This certificated training program will start on Saturday February 7th and will continue every other Saturday through April 18th.  To receive a certificate of completion, each youth will need to attend three sessions.  The sessions will be repeated so that youth who may miss a class can make that up.  It will also allow more youth to attend the program.  The classes will start at 8:30 am and will continue through early afternoon.  At the end of the program, a job fair will be conducted to give the youth the opportunity of talking with employers. 

Interested youth should contact the Alaska Native Heritage Center at 907-330-8000.  They will be put in contact with program staff that will explain the details of the program and determine the youth’s level of interest.