Apprenticeship Outreach: Bobby Coopchiak

Bobby Coopchiak may be a quiet man, but he is a man that people notice. Instructors notice him for his aptitude. Recruiters notice him for his hard work. And employers notice him for his skill and willingness to take on new challenges. Coopchiak was recognized last summer as the top student of 37 new apprentices in the Southern Alaska Carpenters Apprenticeship Program.

Currently in his second year of the apprenticeship program, Coopchiak is originally from Togiak, a Native community of 900, seventy miles west of Dillingham. A successful commercial fisherman, Coopchiak enjoyed doing construction during the off season. When a new school was slated to be built in Togiak, he applied for pre-employment training sponsored by Alaska Works Partnership, the Bristol Bay Native Association, University of Alaska Bristol Bay campus, and the Southwest Vocational Education Center. Coopchiak sailed through the pre-employment carpentry course and after working at the school, was invited to apply for direct entry into the Southern Carpenters apprenticeship program.

Alaska Works Partnership Apprentice Outreach helped Coopchiak with the application process, provided an interview skills course, and assisted with travel expenses to the interview. After Coopchiak was accepted into the apprenticeship Program, AWP continued to support Coopchiak’s efforts.

“Alaska Works gave me financial help while I was in school in Anchorage and helped out with a food allowance,” Coopchiak says. “They freed me to study and work rather than worry about expenses.”

Coopchiak is happy with his career choice and appreciates the broad range of experience he is gaining through his apprenticeship with Southern Alaska Carpenters.

“I thought I knew a little bit about carpentry from earlier experience and a home course on carpentry I took. But I’m definitely learning more than I expected at the Union training center,” he says.

Coopchiak plans to continue fishing as time permits, but he is enthusiastic about his carpentry career. He currently works for Davis Construction and is helping with the construction of the new Cook Inlet Tribal Council four-story office building in Anchorage. In his second year of training, he is still at the top of his class. It won’t be long before Coopchiak is a journeyman carpenter ready to take on any building project in Alaska. [MORE]