Accelerate MT from University of Montana held a Workforce and Training community forum at Evelyn Cameron Heritage Center in Terry March 15. This non-profit is affiliated with the business incubator program at the University that serves five regions in the state, with Eastern Montana being Region 5. Their mission is to support the economic prosperity for Montana workers, companies, and communities. From the organization, Peter Baker of Missoula who facilitated the discussion and Tom Anderson, Region 5 Rapid Training Outreach Coordinator.
Seven people were present for the roundtable discussion surrounding the needs of the community and what training would be necessary to effectively support growth.
Among those attending were Glenda Ueland and Michelle Barringer of Evelyn Cameron Heritage; Lizzy Robertson of Eastern Plains Economic Development Corporation; Bailey Kortum of Powder River Pack/Prairie County Chamber of Commerce; Burt Keltner, CEO of the Prairie County Hospital District; Payton Livengood from Montana Rural Employment Opportunities; and Tyson Kuntz of the Montana Department of Labor.
The initial prompt of the roundtable discussion was centered around how individuals were trained into their position. With an exception of a few, most were thrown into positions with little training, but found strides by doing work in real life scenarios, as Glenda Ueland referred to as “the school of hard knocks.”
The discussion led to reviewing the strengths of the workforce in the community. All agreed that the strength of the Prairie County workforce was based upon our connectivity as a whole. However, when it came to the weaknesses it was apparent that all entities were looking for more equip applicants. Being in the eastern side, some of the biggest challenges are the lack of housing, lack of funding to pay competitive wages, and an identity of the communities that are searching for those applicants to become part of the workforce. The forum all agreed that prioritizing local and available training resources would benefit the broader community.
AccelerateMT is able to offer support by rapid training courses that are six months or less, where recipients are able to enter into positions with a certificate. The organization is able to inventory all the courses that meet the criteria from accredited schools across the state. AccelerateMT works with individuals to walk them through their courses, team up to work with Job Service, and the employers. These rapid training courses can be courses such as certified nurses assistant, commercial drivers license, construction among others.
AccelerateMT is looking forward to working in Prairie County and surrounding areas in the future for accessible training to benefit the workforce.
Originally published on March 23rd, 2023.
