Skills That Lead Somewhere: What Workforce Numbers Look Like Up Close

Workforce training matters most when the skills gained translate into real opportunity.

Recent data from Accelerate Montana is helping us see that connection more clearly. From digital credentials that validate newly gained skills to measurable increases in employment and wages, the latest outcomes show how practical, career-connected training can make a difference for Montana learners.

21% Increase in Employment

Learner employment increased by 21% within six months of completing an Accelerate Montana workforce training.

That number represents more than a job placement statistic. It reflects Montanans gaining skills that can help them enter the workforce, move into new industries, or take the next step in their careers.

Consider one Job Site Ready graduate. As a high school student in Missoula, he took the training to prepare him for a pre-apprenticeship with a local contractor. Upon graduation, he decided not to pursue college for reasons that he could state plainly: more opportunity, less debt. He didn’t have anyone in his family who worked in the trades or a single day of experience on the job site, but Job Site Ready gave him the tools he needed to be successful before he ever needed them on the clock. He has now started a carpentry apprenticeship with that same company.

“It really set me up for success.”

By designing training around real workforce needs and working alongside employers and community partners, Accelerate Montana helps create clearer connections between learning and employment.

6% Wage Growth After Training

Employment is only part of the story.  Accelerate Montana learners saw an average wage increase of 6% within six months of completing workforce training.

Every learner's path is different, but for one recent Job Site Ready trainee, the value of new skills was already taking shape:

“This training has already gotten me a raise for the job I will be doing this summer.”

— Job Site Ready trainee, post-training survey

Practical, industry-informed training gives Montanans skills they can carry into a new job, use to grow in their current role, and build on as they pursue greater earning potential and continued career growth.

For Montana employers, it means a workforce that continues to build the skills needed to meet changing industry demands.

Skills Recognized and Ready to Work

So far in 2026, Accelerate Montana and our partners have issued 1,174 digital badges to learners and professionals across the state.

A digital badge is a portable, verifiable record of specific skills. It gives a learner something tangible that vouches for their skills and gives an employer the ability to verify them. That matters most for people whose skills are real but sometimes invisible, because they don’t always show up neatly on a transcript or even a resume.

One participant in the Electro-Optics Assembly Technician program arrived with no background in STEM and, by her own account, no real belief that a technical field was open to her.

“I didn’t believe that I had the option of being able to go into fields like this.”

She finished with technical skills. She also finished with proof, which turned out to be the best thing that changed how she saw her own options. Every badge represents something learned, demonstrated, and ready to be put to work.

This work has been made possible through collaborations with Great Falls College, City of Missoula, Elevate 11, NACDC Yellowbird Fellowship, and the University of Montana.

Building Skills. Building What’s Next.

Taken together, these numbers tell an encouraging story:

1,174 badges awarded. 21% increase in learner employment. 6% average wage increase.

Behind every number is a learner building skills, an employer strengthening their workforce, and another investment in Montana's economic future.

Accelerate Montana will continue working alongside employers, educators, communities, and learners to create practical training opportunities that help Montanans build the skills they need for what comes next.

Interested in helping to build what's next?

Partner With Accelerate Montana