Nunamteni Caliluta: We Work in Our Villages - A Village-Based Internship-to-Career Pathway - Project Title: Nunamteni Caliluta—We Work in Our Villages Project Area: PA5 Indigenous Designs to Empower and Advance Self-Determination (IDEAS) Applicant: Calista Education & Culture (CEC) Address: 5015 Business Park Boulevard, Suite 1500, Anchorage, Alaska 99503 Telephone: 907-565-6043 | Fax: 907-275-2936 Email: laurie.evansdinneen@calistacorp.com Website: www.calistaeducation.org Calista Education & Culture, in partnership with Calista Corporation Workforce Development, proposes Nunamteni Caliluta: We Work in Our Villages, a three-year internship-to-work pilot for 16 Alaska Native young adults ages 18–28 from Middle Kuskokwim and Lower Yukon communities. These roadless communities have limited local training and career pathways; nearly one in five young people is disconnected from school and work. At the same time, Tribal governments, village corporations, municipal offices, utilities, schools, and other rural employers need prepared local workers. Geographic isolation and the cost of leaving home for training further limit young adults’ ability to gain experience while remaining connected to their families, communities, and subsistence way of life. Nunamteni Caliluta will adapt Calista Corporation’s Workforce Development Team's established internship framework for rural, community-based implementation. In Year 1, CEC will assess Lower Yukon workforce needs (Middle Kuskokwim needs assessment is completed); finalize the internship-to-work model; recruit one cohort of 16 participants—eight Middle Kuskokwim and 8 from Lower Yukon subregions; identify and prepare host employers; develop meaningful job descriptions, curricula, and agreements; and train host supervisors and mentors. This will produce an implementation-ready model aligned with documented community needs and participant interests. In Year 2, participants will complete career and aptitude assessments, individualized Career Development Plans, Yuuyaraq-based workplace preparation, professional-development programming, and full-time, 16-week paid internships in locally or regionally relevant fields. CEC and Calista Workforce Development will support participant-host matching, supervision, mentoring, performance reviews, and transition planning. In Year 3, participants will receive individualized coaching, referrals, application assistance, and access to employment, apprenticeships, education, occupational training, and certification opportunities. By the end of Year 2, 16 participants will demonstrate improved workplace readiness. By the end of Year 3, at least 14 will advance into a career pathway aligned with their Career Development Plans. The project directly advances PA 5 through a locally designed response to community-identified socioeconomic conditions. It will strengthen employers’ capacity to develop local talent, increase young adults’ employability and economic mobility, and establish a sustainable rural pathway from paid work experience to longer-term employment and training—advancing family stability, community workforce capacity, and Alaska Native self-determination. Project Period: Three years Federal Request: $900,000 | Nonfederal Share: $225,000 | Total Project Cost: $1,125,000
