February 28, 2000 NR 06-2000

Taking a vocational education course at the University of Alaska can help you increase your income, a study by the Alaska Department of Labor shows.

For a report done for the Alaska Human Resource Investment Council, the research and analysis section of the Labor Department looked at the earning records of 6,779 vocational education students before and after they had taken courses at the university.

Total wage and salary earnings for participants in the year following exit from the vocational course/s were approximately $97.1 million, an increase of 21% over pre-training earnings during the 12 months prior to taking the vocational course.

Of the 6,779 students, 4,718 were employed prior to taking the courses, and 4,873 were employed after, a jump from 69.6% to 71.9%. Average earnings per quarter of the group prior to taking the course/s were $5,469, and after the course/s the average earnings per quarter jumped to $6,227.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Patrice Parker, Alaska Human Resource Investment Council, 907-269-7485. . Web site: www.gov.state.ak.us/ahric/ahric.htm

Bob Miller, University of Alaska, 907-474-6311.