Project Overview

Tribe/Awardee:
Cook Inlet Tribal Council, Inc.

Location:
Anchorage, AK

Project Title:
Weatherization Apprenticeship Program

Type of Application:
First Steps (Planning)

DOE Grant Number:
DE-EE0002527

Project Amounts:
DOE: $194,454
Awardee: $18,660
Total: $213,114

Project Status:
See project status

Project Period of Performance:
Start: January 2010
End: March 2011

Summary

Weatherization improvement services will be provided to native people by native people in the Cook Inlet region. The proposed project will recruit, train, and then hire two full-time weatherization technicians who will then improve the energy efficiency of homes of Alaska Natives/American Indians residing in the Indian areas within the Cook Inlet region of Alaska. The region includes Anchorage as well as the eight small tribal villages: the Native Villages of Eklutna, Knik, Chickaloon, Seldovia, Ninilchik, Kenaitze, Salamatof, and Tyonek.

The project will be a partnership between three entities, with Cook Inlet Tribal Council (CITC) as the lead agency: CITC’s Employment and Training Services Department (ETSD), Cook Inlet Housing Authority and Alaska Works Partnership. Additionally, six of the eight tribal villages within the Cook Inlet region of Alaska have agreed to work with the project in order to improve the energy efficiency of their tribally owned buildings and homes. The remaining three villages will be invited to participate in the establishment of an intertribal consortium through this project.

Project Description

Background

Cook Inlet Tribal Council will build upon the training and partnership model established through this project in order to recruit, train, and place weatherization technicians throughout Alaska. This will be a pilot project in weatherization training and placement, thus allowing CITC to expand current job training and placement services offered through ETSD. Through the life of this grant, the partners will work together to establish protocol to screen, train, and place Alaska Natives/American Indians in this new and growing field.

The project partner, Cook Inlet Housing Authority, has agreed to hire the two apprentices trained through the Weatherization Apprenticeship Program, and ETSD is equipped to place future weatherization apprenticeship graduates with dozens of other potential employers throughout the State. Additionally, ETSD employs a job developer who improves Native hire rates by attracting and maintaining new prospective employers in conjunction with coordinating and implementing recruitment strategies in order to meet the needs of Anchorage's businesses. The job developer will assist with the placement of future weatherization apprenticeship graduates.

Project Objectives

CITC Vision: To minimize our impacts to the environment by reducing global warming through energy efficiencies in existing and new buildings and an improved transportation system for tribal members.

The proposed project, the Weatherization Apprenticeship Program, will enable CITC to meet its company vision as described below:

Project Goal 1

Establish a tribal weatherization program as a joint collaboration between the Cook Inlet Tribal Council and Cook Inlet Housing Authority (CIHA).

  • Objective One: Develop policies and procedures for recruitment, screening, and referral of eligible weatherization apprentices through CITC’s employment and training services department.
  • Objective Two: Determine the skills gaps of the current administrative staff of both CITC and CIHA in regard to core competencies in weatherization.
  • Objective Three: Develop a training plan to improve the skills of CIHA and CITC administrative staff in regard to core competencies in weatherization.
  • Objective Four: Improve the energy efficiency of tribal properties through the work of the two weatherization graduates trained through the Weatherization Apprenticeship Program.

Project Goal 2

Work toward achieving energy self-sufficiency on tribal lands within the Cook Inlet region.

  • Objective One: Two Alaska Natives will successfully complete apprenticeships in weatherization.
  • Objective Two: Provide jobs to the two weatherization apprentices who will be hired by Cook Inlet Housing Authority as permanent staff upon graduation.
  • Objective Three: Explore the possibility of developing an intertribal consortium to service the weatherization needs of tribal members in Anchorage and the eight villages of the Cook Inlet region.

Project Location

The Cook Inlet region is located on the south central coast of Alaska and comprises 37,100 square miles, similar in size to the state of Indiana. Today there are eight tribal communities within the Cook Inlet region as well as Anchorage—Alaska's largest city, which is home to 23% of Alaska's Native population, making it Alaska's largest "village." As a whole, the Cook Inlet region represents more than 200 rural villages and communities.

Project Status

The project is complete. For details, see the final report.

The October 2010 and November 2011 project status report provides more information.