Mike Rowe helps mark a $250,000 gift to Seward's trade school

Mike Rowe, the "Dirty Jobs" host who has spent years championing skilled trades, turned up at Bay Weld Boats in Homer on Thursday to help mark a $250,000 Wells Fargo gift to AVTEC, the state's vocational-technical school in Seward.

The money will fund student scholarships and help the school recruit and keep instructors. AVTEC, a division of the state Department of Labor, trains Alaskans for skilled trades, and its director, Cory Ortiz, said the gift reaches students directly. Rowe's own mikeroweWORKS Foundation funds trade scholarships nationally, and his appearance put a national face on a state workforce push. Gov. Mike Dunleavy and Labor Commissioner Cathy Muñoz also spoke.

The need behind it is real. Economist Mike Jones of the University of Alaska's Institute of Social and Economic Research found that 60 percent of Alaska's workforce holds jobs requiring no more than a high school diploma, while most Alaska jobs paying over $100,000 require at least a bachelor's degree — a gap that trade training is meant to help close.

AVTEC was named one of America's top vocational schools for 2026 by USA TODAY and Statista, its second year in a row on the list.