The Montana Chamber of Commerce continually gathers feedback from our members and the business community to identify and alleviate specific workforce challenges facing Montana’s businesses. Overwhelmingly, businesses have asked us to assist with finding and training a qualified workforce.
We will be presenting our recent research, programmatic efforts, and facilitate a discussion with Montana business leaders on February 2, 2022, in Great Falls.
This Executive Focus Group will elevate solutions to our workforce challenges based on results from our Employer Needs Survey designed to gather feedback for the Montana Rapid Retraining Program. This will be our first presentation of the data to attendees at our Great Falls Community Development Day, a collaborative effort by the Great Falls Area Chamber of Commerce’s Workforce Education Coalition, the Great Falls College MSU, and the Great Falls Public Schools.
The Montana Chamber Foundation has two separate initiatives designed to address workforce challenges at the high school and middle school level:
- Youth Entrepreneurs is a nationally recognized program that develops employability traits and instills economic and entrepreneurial principles in our future workforce. This is currently in over 80 schools across Montana.
- The Prospects (high school) and the newly established The Junior Prospects (middle school) are virtual statewide entrepreneurship competitions with over $65,000 in scholarships and cash prizes for students with new ideas and existing small businesses.
We’re excited to present the success of these programs and to lead Great Falls event attendees through a sample Youth Entrepreneurs lesson. We’re encouraging business, education, and government leaders to support this project-based learning and to engage with your local schools through the Montana Chamber’s programs.
For more information:
- Matthew Olson ([email protected])
- Tiana Yates ([email protected])
- Youth Entrepreneurs
- The Prospect