Building Trades
Choose Your Career Path Today!
Alaska Works Partnership teams up with partners throughout the entire state of Alaska, building trades with people just like you who want a better future for themselves.
We are committed to helping you find a path to a better career in a field that you will love. Check out our partners below and be sure to contact us for more information.
Alaska Carpenters Training Trust
Starting wages: $29+
Journey Level wages: $46+
Carpenters:
Carpenters construct, erect, install, and repair structures and fixtures made from wood and other materials. Carpenters are involved in many different kinds of construction, from the building of highways and bridges to the installation of kitchen cabinets. They cut and shape wood, plastic, fiberglass, or drywall using hand and power tools, such as chisels, planes, saws, drills, and sanders.
Piledrivers:
Piledrivers install piling to hold back the Earth during excavations, to set up the foundation for skyscrapers and bridges, or to build docks and wharves. Pile drivers are typically certified welders and sometimes commercial scuba divers so that underwater construction can be accomplished.
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1547
Starting wages: $26+ - $34+
Journey Level wages: $50+ - $68+
Electricians – Wireman:
Wiremen are electricians who specialize in connecting their commercial customers’ electrical systems to the outside power source and then distributing that power throughout the facility. An inside wireman’s job might include installing conduit, lighting fixtures, and electrical outlets.
Electricians – Telecom:
Telecommunications technicians install, maintain and repair the switches, multiplexors, transmission equipment, and associated emergency-generating equipment required to keep the communications network viable.
Electricians – Lineman:
Linemen build and maintain electrical power systems. They do all the work from the point of generation (power plants) all the way to the customer’s meter. The lines may be on overhead structures (up to 300′) or in underground vaults or trenches. They may be in rural and metropolitan areas. Linemen also do work on traffic signals and street lights. The work is varied and exciting.
Heat & Frost Insulators & Allied Workers Local 7
Starting wages: $24+
Journey Level wages: $41+
Heat and frost insulators:
Heat and frost insulators apply insulation materials to plumbing, air-handling, heating, cooling and refrigeration systems; piping equipment and pressure vessels; and walls, floors and ceilings of buildings and other structures to prevent or reduce the passage of heat, cold, sound or fire.
Ironworkers Local 751
Starting wages: $29+
Journey Level wages: $42+
Ironworkers:
The Alaska Ironworkers Local 751 started training Alaskans over fifty years ago, when they established their apprenticeship program in Anchorage in 1953. This state-wide program trains ironworkers in all aspects of bridge, structural (skyscrapers, sports arenas, powerplants), ornamental and reinforcing (steel reinforced structures) ironwork for general and structural steel contractors throughout Alaska. We are part of the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers, AFL-CIO (IW), a proud trade association whose beginnings go back to the 1890s.
Alaska Operating Engineers Local 302
Starting wages: $30+
Journey Level wages: $50+
Heavy Equipment Operator:
Heavy Equipment Operators operate a wide variety of equipment ranging from dozers to crusher plants throughout the state for various contractors. The work can range from small parking lot paving to the construction of ice roads.
Heavy Duty Equipment Mechanic:
Heavy Equipment Mechanics repair and maintain many types of equipment including dozers, scrapers, loaders, and large trucks to name a few. A workday may consist of minor adjustments or repairs to the complete teardown and rebuild of equipment.
Operating Heavy Duty Service Oiler:
Heavy Duty Service Oilers lubricate all types of earthmoving equipment, from the largest crawler tractors down to the smallest pump and everything in between. The Service Oilers job is the heartbeat of any construction project. They are the eyes and ears of the Master Mechanic.
Laborers Local 341
Starting wages: $26+
Journey Level wages: $36+
Laborers:
Laborers help during all phases of construction from operating jackhammers, traffic control on road crews, or using surveying equipment. They may dig trenches, backfill holes, or compact earth to prepare for construction. Those laborers with special training may transport and use explosives or run hydraulic boring machines to dig out tunnels. They may use lasers to place pipes and use computers to control robotic pipe cutters.
Plasterers & Cement Mason
(Trowel Trades) Local 528
Starting wages: $28+
Journey Level wages: $44+
Cement Masons:
Cement masons are responsible for all concrete construction, including pouring and finishing of slabs, steps, wall tops, curbs and gutters, sidewalks, paving and other concrete construction. They also handle epoxy, polymer add other plastic materials for topping repair and injection. Cement masons are responsible for all preparation and repairing of concrete. They also set forms and screed pins for slabs, steps, curbs and gutters, and paving.
Plasterers:
Plasterers finish interior walls and ceilings of buildings, apply plaster on masonry, metal, and wire lath or gypsum. They also apply cement on masonry, metal, and wire lath (stucco). Most of these are hand-applied; therefore you will learn handcrafting skills.
Painters & Allied Trades Local 1959
Starting wages: $20+
Journey Level wages: $39+
Painters:
Painting is the craft of applying paint, varnishes, lacquers, sealers, and stains to a variety of prepared surfaces.
Glaziers:
Glaziers prepare and install glass, mirrors, metal framing, and glass and aluminum doors and entrances.
Drywall Finishers:
Drywall finishers apply finish, maintain and restore plaster or similar materials on interior and exterior walls, ceilings, and building partitions.
Floor Coverers:
Floor covering installers are people who put down carpet, linoleum, and tile, both in older buildings and those under construction. They also install materials made of cork, asphalt, rubber, and vinyl. In addition to floors, they sometimes cover walls and countertops.
Plumbers & Steamfitters - Anchorage
Starting wages: $22+
Journey Level wages: $44+
Plumbers & Pipefitters - Fairbanks
Starting wages: $28+
Journey Level wages: $51+
Plumbers:
Plumbers can install, repair and maintain water and sewer lines as well as pumps, valves, and other plumbing fixtures and mechanisms. A journeyman plumber can install pipes for HVAC and sprinkler systems and assemble parts that are used for plumbing and ductwork. Pipefitters install, assemble, fabricate, maintain, and repair mechanical piping systems. Journeyman pipefitters deal with industrial/commercial/marine piping and heating/cooling systems
Alaska Metal and Mechanical
Starting wages: $24+
Journey Level wages: $51+
Sheetmetal Workers
Sheetmetal Workers are builders, welders and HVAC installation mechanics. They
learn advanced metal fabrication, HVAC design, airflow characteristics,
stainless steel kitchen work, computer drafting and CNC equipment use. We are
an accredited testing facility with the American Welding Society and employ
three certified welding inspectors. We teach SMAW, GMAW, GTAW and laser
welding. Sheetmetal Workers Can Build Anything
HVAC-R Service Apprenticeship
HVAC-R service technicians repair, troubleshoot and maintain equipment.
Refrigeration training covers ice machines, A/C, freezers, coolers,
mini-splits, commercial rack systems and heat pumps. Electrical troubleshooting
is central to all education, with motors and motor controls. Burners for natural
gas, propane and oil with combustion analysis and calibration. HVAC-R Service Technicians Can Fix Anything
Teamsters Local 959
Starting wages: $25+
Journey Level wages: $51+
Construction Driver:
Teamster Construction Drivers drive a variety of construction industry trucks, from commonly recognized tractor-trailers to tractors with flatbeds or lowboy trailers, mixer trucks, end dump or side dump trucks, fuel trucks, and water trucks to the job site crew bus. There are a variety of tractor/truck and trailer combinations and straight trucks. It’s not just about driving trucks, it also includes operating the implements on some, such as dragging the fuel hose, attaching the mixer chutes, and strapping or chaining down equipment or commodities to name a few.
Logistics Technician:
Typically, a Logistic Technician is known as a Warehouse employee. Receiving a variety of goods including hazardous materials and shipping of these goods and hazardous materials are critical areas for a Logistic/Material Technician. Safety in the handling of these products is an essential area of responsibility. This program is typically a local hire opportunity for the Fairbanks and Valdez areas for work in conjunction with the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) for the shipping of items along the pipeline corridor to each pump station for all crafts. This is a warehouse position at the primary and secondary locations. On occasion, there are opportunities for North Slope to hire on-site project warehouse facilities.
Survey Technician:
As a surveyor, you’ll be instrumental from inception to completion, interpreting plans, orchestrating the layout, and documenting each phase for official records. Your work will span across diverse projects, including utility systems, transportation infrastructures, edifices, resource extraction sites, and conduits.
This field demands precision, employing state-of-the-art tools, portable computing devices, and cutting-edge technologies like lasers and satellite positioning systems. A solid grasp of advanced mathematics is essential.
Boilermakers Local 502
Starting wages: $32+
Journey Level wages: $46+
Boilermakers:
Boilermakers construct, assemble, maintain, and repair stationary steam boilers and boiler house auxiliaries. Align structures or plate sections to assemble boiler frame tanks or vats, following blueprints. Work involves the use of hand and power tools, plumb bobs, levels, wedges, dogs, or turnbuckles. Assist in testing assembled vessels. Direct cleaning of boilers and boiler furnaces. Inspect and repair boiler fittings, such as safety valves, regulators, automatic-control mechanisms, water columns, and auxiliary machines.
Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers Local 1
Starting wages: $21+
Journey Level wages: $42+
Bricklayers:
Bricklayers lay bricks, concrete blocks, stone, and other similar materials to construct or repair walls, arches, chimneys, fireplaces, and other structures in accordance with blueprints and specifications. You could be installing firebrick in commercial and industrial furnaces and incinerators. You could also be working with acid tile and acid brick in pulp mills.
International Union of Elevator Constructors
Starting wages: $37+
Journey Level wages: $68+
Elevator Constructor
Welcome to the International Union of Elevator Constructors. Applying to apprentice with union elevator constructors is an opportunity to work hard, learn while you earn, and enter a stable and reliable career without a college degree or any prior training. The IUEC represents the most qualified and trained elevator constructors in the world. Members assemble, install, and replace elevators, escalators, dumbwaiters, moving walkways, and more. The IUEC is a small but extremely important building trades union, supporting over 27,000 members. For over a century, elevator constructors have reshaped city skylines and kept our nations moving. As part of the IUEC training, the National Elevator Industry Educational Program offers incoming apprentices the best education, training, and safety instruction program available in the elevator industry. We invite you to learn more about the impact the IUEC has made on the cities and towns we call home, and on the people who are proud to practice their trade as Elevator Constructors.