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While political and business leaders argue over the construction of new instate and international natural gas pipeline projects, it's important not to forget about a second type of pipeline.

That's the development of an Alaska work force capable of doing Alaska jobs tomorrow.

When it comes to churning out qualified workers, the central peninsula is well endowed with programs offered by the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District and Kenai Peninsula College.

"What we're all about right now is giving students the chance to explore their interests so they can make qualified decisions on what they want to do after high school," said Sean Dusek, secondary education director for the district.

The district offers an array of programs, during and outside the school day, in fields like welding, building trades, architecture, hospitality, power mechanics and medicine.

Walt Ward, work experience and work force coordinator for the district, said the classes offered not only give students a leg up into the work world by providing valuable skills, but many also offer college credit or certification.

"We have some programs where students come out certified and job ready," Ward said.

Dusek said the district's Workforce Development Program is primarily focused on making students ready for entry-level work.

"We're really working hard as a district on providing students with 21st century learning skills," Dusek said. "These are the soft skills that kids need to be employable."

It's not possible for students interested in some careers to get all the experience necessary for a job while they're still in high school, though.

For example, students pursuing a career in oil and gas exploration and development, can't get hands on experience until they're actually working in the field.

"If they're going to go to in the oil industry they'll need on-the-job training for a specific job," Ward said.

The district partners with tertiary institutions like KPC and the Alaska Vocational Technical Center so students can further their job skills after high school.

Institutions like these also offer students the chance to gain or upgrade their skill sets.

"Everything we do here, program-wise and credit-wise, is helping people to find a job or become better prepared for a job," said Gary Turner, KPC director.

Turner is bullish on his institution's ability to provide critical job training in a range of fields.

"That's what we do here, we help people prepare and become better trained and educated so they can get a job or promoted in their present job," he said.

Turner said he thinks too many people categorize work force development as programs that prepare future workers for jobs in the trades.

At KPC he sees work force development as running the gamut, from degrees in the arts and sciences to enhancing specific skill sets.

He said they're also seeing older students looking to make changes in their careers.

"What we're seeing quite a bit right now is people doing career transitions, taking on whatever they did in the past, either the job went away or they got too old to do it physically, and they're saying I need a career change and those folks are anywhere from 35 to 65," he said.

Turner said he's also constantly trying to adapt KPC to the changing needs of the job market.

For example, a growing demand for corrections workers has prompted the school to develop a new program along with the Kachemak Bay Campus.

A 16-credit occupational endorsement certificate and a 31-credit undergraduate certificate program are pending approval by the board of regents later this spring.

The new corrections programs, however, won't just be available for students attending KPC or KBC, but to anyone with access to the Internet.

KPC has accelerated its online learning.

This spring, Turner said KPC has 645 students, not just on the peninsula, but also across the country and as far away as Australia.

"It's just growing like crazy," he said of the distance education programs' popularity.

In the last five semesters, KPC has expanded its distance education semester credit hours by 213 percent.

Turner said packaging the online programs so students can get a degree has fueled a significant amount of the growth.

"What people have been telling me on the street for years, is that, 'I'm a single mom, I have three children and I work. The only time I can take a course is at 10 o'clock at night,'" he said.

Turner said KPC also has seen tremendous growth in trade courses like welding, instrumentation and process technology.

This semester for example, he noted that welding courses filled quickly, prompting KPC to add five more courses, all of which filled up.

While KPC's work force development programs continue to explode, Turner and Ward pointed out that there has to be a job at the end of the road for the student.

"We can provide the training, but we still need the jobs for folks to go to," said Ward.

Turner said so far the slackening economy hasn't appeared to impact KPC graduates.

"I know they've had some layoffs out in Cook Inlet on the platforms, but I know that our student graduates are still getting interviews and still getting jobs," Turner said.