Growing a modern workforce in Ketchikan

The Ketchikan Shipyard. 2013 Photo by Ed Schoenfeld/CoastAlaska.The Ketchikan Shipyard had a reputation in the 1980s and 90s as a giant money pit. The state spent millions to build it, and critics complained it couldn’t do cost-effective repairs. Operators lost money. The yard closed for two years. Then, with big infusions of state and federal cash, along with local support, the yard got going again. It now provides 200 year-round jobs and is building two major new ferries for the Alaska M