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Member Profile

Learn to Return Training Systems

AGC member since: 1/27/18 badge
The Associated General Contractors of Alaska logo
Member Profile
Learn to Return Training Systems
AGC member since: 1/27/18 badge
back view of a man looking out into an vast Alaskan landscape of mountains, hills and ice, he wears a shirt the reads Learn To Return: Survival Training Anchorage, Alaska on the back
Ready for the Unexpected
Learn to Return teaches advanced survival skills to the Alaska workforce
By Rachael Kvapil
S

afety is by choice, not by chance, and Learn to Return Training Systems, or LTR, prepares occupational workers with the ability to handle emergency situations.

Through a series of immersive scenarios, LTR teaches Alaska’s workforce how to assess and react to danger and mitigate damage when necessary. Likewise, it helps develop a mindset aimed at prevention and confidence to work effectively in potentially hazardous environments.

Global Focus Narrows to Alaska
LTR focuses primarily on occupational training, though it occasionally holds workshops for recreational learners. Its main courses address aviation, outdoor, and offshore survival; fall protection; and medical training. There is also the option to develop a customized program that covers material not taught in other LTR courses.
participants of Learn to Return sit in a transport, each wearing harnesses, mic'd headphones, winter attire and gloves
In 2019, Learn to Return received the Micro-Business of the Year Award from the US Small Business Administration. At the award ceremony, US Senator Dan Sullivan thanked Learn to Return for creating a business model that helps Alaskans learn critical skills to survive in the beautiful, but sometimes harsh, Alaska climate.
close cropped view of two men wearing red hard hats performing an exercise using rope

Brian Horner, LTR director and founder, says survival training has evolved since his company started in 1986. For many years, arctic training and aviation survival were its two main courses, and LTR taught them to businesses, organizations, and government agencies on an
international level.

As family became a larger priority, Horner narrowed his company’s focus back on Alaska. He developed a series of medical training courses that went beyond Basic First Aid, followed by additional courses still taught at LTR today.

“The company changed when we decided to stay home more,” says Horner, “but it gave us a chance to provide training to our clients that was more relevant to their employees.”

First Aid on an Alaska Timeline
He points to First Aid as an example of LTR’s desire to improve training. He says the traditional First Aid class is designed for short-term care where further medical assistance is nearby. LTR’s Delayed Care, First Aid course trains attendees to deal with injuries where 911 calls and rapid response is unrealistic.

The course is based on Wilderness Medical Society guidelines and consolidated American Red Cross First Aid programs. Attendees learn splinting, bandaging, small wound cleaning, and proper CPR techniques.

“There are a lot of places that offer recreational gear locally. But we are the only place in Anchorage that offers industrial gear like this.”

–Brian Horner,
Founder and Director, Learn to Return Training Systems, Inc.
participants of Learn to Return smile while peering from beneath a covering during a raft exercise in a pool
Learn to Return provides survival training for land, air, and sea. Offshore Cold-Water Survival is a common course for employees who work on oil platforms, industrial vessels, and smaller support watercraft.
low angle back view of a person wearing a backback equipped with rope and spiked boots while hiking a high snow pact mountain
“Delayed Care, First Aid teaches care procedures for two hours or longer,” says Horner. “That’s a common timeframe for medical assistance to arrive at a remote location.”

LTR’s Delayed Care, First Aid class is so popular that many companies and organizations will schedule it in conjunction with other occupational courses like Wilderness Bear Awareness and Defense, or Fall Protection.

Feedback is Evidence of Quality Training
Carl Norby, Safety Representative for Colaska, Inc., has taken Wilderness Survival Medicine with LTR and sent employees for Confined Space Entry and Rescue. He says the hands-on learning and instruction impressed the importance of being ready for when the unexpected occurs.

“All the scenarios were realistic and held the attention of the class,” says Norby. “Every employee who has taken courses through Learn to Return always comments on how good the training is and how they would like more.”

Testimonials on the LTR website attest to the successful teaching method. Ben Benson of McLane Consulting, Inc. writes, “LTR, I just wanted to say that you guys have a very good program there. I thought the class moved smoothly and provided a huge amount of very useful information. Your staff was tremendous and I can tell everyone there was speaking from a lot of experience, not just out of a book. I’m sure, like many that enter your class, I didn’t think I needed further outdoor training, and I wasn’t going to learn anything new. But I was very impressed with the amount of new information I took from the class.”

Industrial-Grade Survival Gear
LTR has been an AGC member since 2018. Horner says membership helped other businesses and organizations better understand LTR’s mission. By attending AGC events, Horner is able to network with those who would benefit most from survival training.
“Every employee who has taken courses through Learn to Return always comments on how good the training is and how they would like more.”

–Carl Norby
Safety Representative, Colaska, Inc.
Within the last two years, LTR started incorporating equipment sales into its business model. Horner says the LTR Supply Center provides every major line of fall protection, rope rescue equipment, climbing, bear protection, and medical equipment needed to work safely in Alaska. Combining the Supply Center with the Training School allows for equipment demonstrations, fittings, and suspension checks.

“There are a lot of places that offer recreational gear locally,” says Horner. “But we are the only place in Anchorage that offers industrial gear like this.”

In 2019, Learn to Return received the Micro-Business of the Year Award at the US Small Business Administration Awards Ceremony. US Senator Dan Sullivan thanked LTR for creating a business model that helps Alaskans learn critical skills to survive in the beautiful—but sometimes harsh—Alaska climate.

Rachael Kvapil is a freelance writer from Fairbanks. Photos provided by Learn to Return Training Systems, Inc.