Opinion: Trade skills are Alaska’s future, but support is slipping away
Paul Fuhs, Anchorage Daily News, October 8, 2025
I read with sadness the news of the cancellation of the federal funding for the career and technical center at the Anchorage School District.
More than ever, we are going to need these trained workers in all fields to respond to the increase of natural resource projects that are coming our way. We already have to import outside workers, and that is just going to get worse.
You can’t blame the companies; they need certified people who can do the job. And you can’t blame the workers who are just trying to provide for their own families. But the fact remains that the wages of Alaska workers stay in Alaska’s economy and the money paid to outside workers will never be seen again.
It’s important to reach our school children while they are in school and looking ahead to their careers. These jobs, while they may be difficult, are well-paying and include benefits such as healthcare. The average miner in Alaska makes $116,000 per year. The state’s oil and gas industry paid an average statewide of $181,143 in 2023 (highest among all industries), according to the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
While we want our kids to go to college if they can, about 60% of Alaska students don’t. Trade-related jobs are a good alternative if they are presented in a favorable light in our school system. And you don’t end up with a massive student debt.
Trump announces U.S. stake in Trilogy Metals, Alaska mining road permits
Rebecca Falconer, Axios, October 6, 2025
resident Trump announced the U.S. will take a 10% stake in Canadian minerals explorer Trilogy Metals and ordered the approval of a permit for a mining road in northwest Alaska.
Why it matters: Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told reporters the moves will unlock “all of the minerals that we need to win the AI arms race against China,” which dominates in the processing of metals.
The big picture: Trump approved the permit in Alaska’s wilderness during his first term for the 211-mile road that would provide access to the Ambler Mining District, where minerals including copper, cobalt and gold are found.
- Former President Biden subsequently blocked the federal rights-of-way due to concerns about impacts on Alaska Native tribes’ livelihood and wildlife in the remote region.
- The White House said in a post that Biden had “ignored Alaska’s economic needs and national security imperatives” in his decision and called the road “vitally important to America’s national defense and economic prosperity.”
By the numbers: The partnership with Trilogy Metals will see the U.S. invest $35.6 million to support mining exploration in the Ambler Mining District, according to the White House.
- The investment in the company includes warrants to purchase an additional 7.5% of the company.
What they’re saying: “This is something that should have been long operating and making billions of dollars for our country and supplying a lot of energy and minerals and everything else that we are talking about,” Trump said at the White House on Monday.
- Tony Giardini, president and CEO of Trilogy Metals, said in a statement the “proposed partnership with the U.S. Government represents a significant milestone” for the firm “and for the development of a secure, domestic supply of critical minerals for America in Alaska.”
- He said the investment that would come from the newly branded Department of War “underscores the strategic importance of the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects in supporting U.S. energy, technology, and national security priorities.”
Thought bubble, via Axios’ Ben Geman: Trilogy Metals is the latest example of the Trump administration taking stakes in companies on behalf of the U.S., following rare-earth magnet supplier Mountain Pass Materials, the mining firm Lithium Americas and the chipmaker Intel.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with more context.