Study shows problems with Wyoming’s workforce

Wyoming is facing widespread labor shortages, a lack of sites that are ready for development and a work ethic that is lacking, according to an updated industry study.

The Wadley-Donovan Study on Target Industries and Workforce Availability, released Wednesday, also shows employers are not strongly concerned about the level of basic skills that job applicants have, and they don’t often use the state’s colleges or university for recruiting even though they rate the quality of those institutions as satisfactory to good.

This is the second such study done in the last five years.

Tucker Fagan, chief executive officer for the Wyoming Business Council, said conditions in the state have changed since the 2000 study was done by consultants Deloitte-Touche Fantus. The methodologies for the two studies were different.

Even so, Fagan said, the state has shown progress.

"One of the things to come out of the first study is that we needed more broadband in the state, and now we have it," Fagan said. "We are much more in line for (that work) than we were."

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